OTD In Space - November 19: First Lift-Off From An Asteroid

On November 19, 2005, the Japanese Hayabusa (HI-uh-BOOS-uh) spacecraft made the first liftoff from an asteroid.

Hayabusa was supposed to return asteroid samples to Earth. Asteroids are space rocks that were formed during the early solar system. We study asteroids to learn more about the solar system’s history. Hayabusa made two touchdowns on asteroid Itokawa (EE -toh-KA-wah). Each time, the spacecraft went into safe mode. Controllers weren't sur e if Hayabusa gathered any material. But they sent the spacecraft back to Earth anyway. Hayabusa unexpectedly broke up in Earth's atmosphere. Luckily, the sample return capsule survived. Scientists found dust of Itokawa inside the capsule. Hayabusa spurred the creation of another sample-return mission. The new spacecraft is called Hayabusa2. It arrived at asteroid Ryugu (REE-ooh-goo) in 2018.