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The little-known Japanese asteroid probe Hayabusa is returning images of 24143 Itokawa, a 1km-long NEA.

Check out the pics!



http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/snews/2005/0911.shtml

Wow, it's an odd little thing isn't it? Cosmic fluff.

Its 'bent' shape makes it look like two smaller asteroids stuck together.

The Singing Badger wrote:The little-known Japanese asteroid probe Hayabusa is returning images of 24143 Itokawa, a 1km-long NEA.

Yeah, they really haven't been making a big deal out of this mission have they. Maybe it's because the failure rate of japanese missions has been rather high and they don't want to get anyone's hopes up til they know it's successful?

This mission is absurdly over-ambitious - not only will the craft study Itokawa for 2 months, but it will also land on the asteroid twice (at different spots), collect samples, release a bean-can-sized jumping mini-probe AND then return the samples to Earth.

At least, that's the plan. Given JAXA's failure rate in recent years it's unlikely that all of this will be achieved. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them. You have to respect the audacity.

Malenfant wrote:Maybe it's because the failure rate of japanese missions has been rather high and they don't want to get anyone's hopes up til they know it's successful?

Sorry, but you have to ADMIRE the Japanese for continuing their efforts
regardless of the failure rate. I like their "Bold as Hell" approach... If it don't
work, we'll try again.

Could use some more of that here in the United Stagnates...

To be fair, our unmanned probe program in the States has had resounding successes. Yes, there have been failures, and some of them bloody well embarressing. But we've continued to play the game, and we're doing great.

That said, I also admire the Japanese effort. You don't develop any kind of successful program without pushing on even in the face of failures. If you have a failure and you quite... well, what's the point of having a program to begin with?

That's not audacity, in my view. That's perserverance!

...John...

Laugh in the face of failure, one must.

If there was no such thing as failure, what would be the point trying? (hmm, making up philosophical phrases is pretty easy!)

The shape of the Itokawa is strange, it looks like some variety of a grey space jellybean.

Closer still...

http://www.hayabusa.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index.html

This is a strange little world. Look at those weird, pointy hills. A result of its negligible gravity?

Itokawa is by far the smallest asteroid imaged so far from a close range. It is more like a group of rocks connected with dust resembling pretty much the large boulders seen on Eros.

well to end this convo of failure, the only way to learn is to fix you fuck ups. You don't learn anything if you succeed all the time, then you don't know what's wrong. Test the so called limits and go beyond. Only way you'll ever know your true potential. The thing about the Japanese screw ups, AT LEAST THEY'RE UNMANNED MISSIONS!!!...unlike our "great" united states.lmao

Presuming that you are referring to the shuttle disasters (hardly worthy of a "lmao"), these "great" United States, as far as the space program goes, has been a world leader in space exploration, manned and unmanned.

Sure, we've had failures, but that's hardly a reason to be so dismissive. For all of the failures, some of them admittedly quite preventable, we've still been the leader in space exploration for most of the "space age".

And our unmanned program is next to none. And yes, it reached its current state by pushing through the inevitable failures.

So good on Japan. They are indeed trying, and they are finally succeeding! But that's no need to mock the US program and its high rate of success.

...John...

Dollan wrote:So good on Japan. They are indeed trying, and they are finally succeeding! But that's no need to mock the US program and its high rate of success.

Agree entirely John...

The thing I was trying to get at with my United "Stagnates" remark involves
our PUBLIC responses to failures. Our citizenry are so accustomed to being
number ONE, that they seem to lose interest (and don't wish to have more
of their taxes spent) on/in future endeavors. No one ever seems to think
about the long-term benefits of these projects, even if they DO fail once in
a while. Even the failures give us education...

Just my opinion.

Hi Bob...

Yeah, I understand your opinion entirely. I've often been frustrated with just how blase the public can get when faced with constant success in these remarkable endeavors. Apparently it takes some pretty nasty or embarressing failures to warrant any kind of major reaction beyond an initial "Ooo" and "Ahhh".

Everyone in the press was pumped about the arrival of Cassini, and while there has been ongoing successes and absolutely remarkable images (the latest is of Pandora, I see), the press has virtually ignored the goings on at Saturn. The same can be said with the MER rovers.

Oh, there was a LOT of press covering Opportunity when it became mired down, but you know, I found only a brief blurb on non-science news agencies when it freed itself.

It's enough to really frustrate a person! But I suppose people will always latch onto and remember the failures, while giving the more frequent victories a passing glance and little more.

...John...

Dollan wrote: Everyone in the press was pumped about the arrival of Cassini, and while there has been ongoing successes and absolutely remarkable images (the latest is of Pandora, I see), the press has virtually ignored the goings on at Saturn. The same can be said with the MER rovers.

Yes... Sad, but true. That's simply because we (the general public)
apparently have short attention spans. Well, that, and the news
agencies don't think that space exploration is news-worthy anymore.
<shrug>

By the way, don't know if anyone else here sees it or not, but the Science
Channel specializes in space-exploration and space-related programming all
night on Tuesdays. Just FYI.

Thanks

JAXA has released what they call a colour image of Itokawa.

Turns out it's ... grey.

http://www.hayabusa.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index.html

Unfortunately, JAXA is not following NASA's example in releasing new images from their spacecraft as they are received. Here's their excuse:

"Hayabusa project has refrained from releasing high resolution images in order to retain the scientific output built inside the science team."

"High resolution images themselves can be readily used for improper and inaccurate interpretation. And Hayabusa project intends to add adequate calibration and speculation to those data and will make them public later but in timely manner."

- Hank

Jeez, that's actually worse than ESA's image releasal policy.