Hayabusa (Muses-C) mission website

Reentry conditions:

• Expected peak brightness: -6.7 magn. (360-630 nm)
• Date: June 2010
• Time: nighttime
• Mass: 18 kg
• Diameter: 0.40 meter
• Speed: 12.2 km/s
• Entry angle: 12.0 deg.
• Landing site: Australia
• Heat-shield material: carbon phenolic ablator
• Sample return: asteroid fragments from 1998 SF36 "Itokawa"

Sun and Moon data:

To be determined, depending on the date of return.

Hayabusa met with asteroid Itokawa as planned and returned spectacular images. The sampling of dust and pebbles did not go as planned, but some material may still have been collected. The spacecraft lost some attitude control and is limping back to Earth. Hayabusa is now on its return leg, still with a small delta V = 400 m/s offset, which will be corrected in 2009. If all goes to plan, the reentry will happen in June of 2010. The latest information from the mission is given here.