yet more problems with Hayabusa
JAXA had some more problems with the Hayabusa probe. It has already been determined that it is highly unlikely (but not certain) that the spacecraft managed to collect a sample of the asteroid Itokawa, but now a new problem has come up: a gas burst on Friday caused by leaking fuel has set the spacecraft spinning out of control. JAXA is confident that they will be able to regain control of the spacecraft, but now the return to earth is delayed by several years. The proble will now leave Itokawa in 2007 and return to earth in 2010.
Even though the spacecraft has encountered a slew of problems over the course of the mission, and appears to have failed in its primary mission, I wouldn't call it a total failure. The software on the probe has been magnificent, enabling Hayabusa to land twice on Itokawa, once during a complete communications blackout. It was the first unmanned spacecraft to land and take off again from an extraterrestrial body, and did so twice. While the range of problems enountered would likely have crippled many other spacecraft, Hayabusa is still ticking. And come 2010, it could (assuming no catastrophic problems) become the first spacecraft to return to earth from a mission to an asteroid. I'd rate the Japanese effort here as a solid B minus.
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