Japan to Reuse Hayabusa-2 Spacecraft to Intercept Two Distant Asteroids Heading Towards Earth.
According to reports, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is planning to test the reuse of the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft to intercept two distant asteroids that are moving rapidly towards Earth.
Launched in 2014, the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid 1999 JU3 (also known as Ryugu), located over 300 million kilometers away from Earth, in 2018. It conducted a survey of the asteroid for about 18 months. Hayabusa-2 also fired projectiles at the surface of the asteroid and collected the ejected samples.
The spacecraft returned samples to Earth via a capsule that landed in the remote regions of Australia in 2020. Currently, scientists are still analyzing these samples to uncover clues about the origins of the universe.
Japan plans to steer small asteroids away from Earth. (Photo: TS2.space).
After the spacecraft’s successful primary mission, JAXA engineers announced in December 2020 that they would utilize the remaining xenon propellant to allow Hayabusa-2 to perform a flyby of asteroid 2002 CC21 (approximately 500 meters in diameter and 12.4 million kilometers away from Earth) in July 2026, before heading to its final destination, asteroid 1998 KY26.
Asteroid 1998 KY26 is nearly spherical, measuring 30 meters in diameter, and orbits the Sun at a minimum distance from Earth of about 374,000 kilometers. JAXA stated that the spacecraft is expected to encounter this asteroid in 2031.
In both of these flyby missions, JAXA hopes to use various techniques through the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft to alter the orbits of the asteroids. Additionally, the agency intends for Hayabusa-2 to attach a target marker to asteroid 1998 KY26 to better understand such objects.
JAXA stated: “ Many small asteroids of similar size exist in space and are predicted to collide with Earth every 100 to 1,000 years, causing significant damage. Therefore, Hayabusa-2 will undertake the mission of intercepting and redirecting asteroids on a collision course with Earth.”
