Tag: JAXA

  • Japan set to launch space station resupply mission

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    Japan’s eighth HTV supply ship is set for launch Tuesday (U.S. time) from the Tanegashima Space Center. Credit: JAXA A Japanese HTV cargo freighter is set for launch Tuesday (U.S. time) aboard a powerful H-2B rocket, ferrying six new lithium-ion batteries, a Sony-developed laser communications terminal, fresh water and other equipment to the International Space…

  • JAXA to launch eighth HTV space station cargo mission in September

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    Japan’s eighth H-2 Transfer Vehicle, seen here, is being prepared for launch from the Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 10 with supplies and experiments for the International Space Station. Credit: JAXA Japan’s eighth resupply mission to the International Space Station is set for liftoff Sept. 10 with another batch of upgraded batteries, crew provisions and…

  • Japanese spacecraft snags second sample from asteroid

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    A camera on-board Hayabusa 2 shows the spacecraft’s sampler horn contacting the asteroid’s surface, then kicking up rocky debris after firing a sampling projectile. Credit: JAXA Scientists celebrated another success with Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft late Wednesday (U.S. time), when the robot explorer accomplished a second pinpoint touch-and-go landing on asteroid Ryugu, this time to…

  • Hayabusa 2 cleared for second touchdown on asteroid

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    Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft touching down on asteroid Ryugu. Credit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita Ground teams have approved plans for Japan’s Hayabusa 2 sample return mission to briefly land on asteroid Ryugu for the second time July 11, aiming for a targeted touch-and-go to gather material exposed by an explosive impactor released by the…

  • Japanese probe readies for another possible touch-and-go on asteroid

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    A camera on-board Hayabusa 2 captured this image of the target marker (the bright feature at bottom right) being released just above asteroid Ryugu on May 30. Credit: JAXA Approaching the one-year anniversary since its arrival at asteroid Ryugu, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has deployed a target marker near an artificial crater created by an…

  • Hayabusa 2 locates artificial crater on asteroid

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    [CRA2] Crater formation where the Small Carry-on Impactor collided with Ryugu has been confirmed! These images compare the surface before and after the SCI collision. pic.twitter.com/BZPYlHhSjs — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) April 25, 2019 New images from Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft show the location of a fresh crater carved from the jagged terrain of asteroid Ryugu by…

  • Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe releases ‘bomb’ at asteroid

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    Artist’s illustration of Hayabusa 2’s impactor experiment. Credit: JAXA Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped an explosive charge on asteroid Ryugu on Thursday night in an audacious attempt to carve a crater on the object, exposing pristine underground rocks to be retrieved by the probe for return to Earth. Six weeks after snagging a sample from…

  • Hayabusa 2’s asteroid touch-and-go comes to life in dramatic new video

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    A camera riding on Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft recorded stunning views of the probe’s final descent to asteroid Ryugu last month, showing the rocky debris kicked up by the robot explorer’s touch-and-go landing to collect a sample for return to Earth. The on-board camera observed Hayabusa 2’s sampling horn contact Ryugu’s gravelly surface Feb. 21,…

  • Japanese probe lands on asteroid to capture sample

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    Moments after landing on asteroid Ryugu, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 captured this view of its landing zone from a distance of about 100 feet (30 meters), showing the probe’s shadow and markings left on the surface, likely from the spacecraft’s thruster jets firing to begin its ascent. Credit: JAXA Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft briefly landed on…

  • Japan’s Epsilon conducts RAPIS-1 launch

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    Japan conducted its first launch of 2019 Friday, using the small Epsilon rocket to launch seven satellites, including the RAPIS-1 technology demonstration mission, into orbit. Epsilon lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Centre at the start of a nine-minute, 17-second window that opened at 09:50:20 local time (00:50 UTC). The primary payload for Friday’s launch…