Hayabusa Mission Topic

[RVHM]

Go Hayabusa!

 

[LKD]

Looking forward to 4 weeks from now. I can't wait till it arrives. I found this and thought it was pretty interesting as an arrival shot from the satellite.

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/topics/2010/0517.shtml

 

[EarthlingX]

Looking forward to 4 weeks from now. I can't wait till it arrives. I found this and thought it was pretty interesting as an arrival shot from the satellite.

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/topics/2010/0517.shtml

It is Not so many images of Earth from beyond the Moon orbit.

 

[shuttle_guy]

Looking forward to 4 weeks from now. I can't wait till it arrives. I found this and thought it was pretty interesting as an arrival shot from the satellite.

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/topics/2010/0517.shtml

Very nice, thank you

 

[andrew_t1000]

Is there any point in going up to watch the re-entry?
It's scheduled to come in around 11pm, in 10 days time it'll be a new moon.
The article says the "fireball" will last a minute.
That's still longer than most meteors last and NASA's DC 8 will be orbiting the landing site.
There are still road condition warnings posted for the area, we have had a LOT of rain.

Any of the Rocket Scientists want to weigh in here?

I've been thinking of going up and having a look at the "big wet" and it is the camping season here (winter).
It's "only" a 8 - 12 hour drive.

If you want to see what the country is like, have a look at the Lake Eyre Yacht Club site,

http://www.lakeeyreyc.com/

Poor bastards only get to hold a regatta every 20 years or so!

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Asteroid Probe's Return to Earth Keeps Scientists on Edge

By Leonard David
SPACE.com’s Space Insider Columnist
posted: 02 June 2010
08:58 am ET



BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — A "welcome home" team of eager scientists is anxiously awaiting this month's return of a Japanese asteroid probe and its planned nosedive into Australia because — just maybe — it is toting a tiny, but prized, piece of space rock.

If all goes well, the sample return capsule of Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft will parachute down on June 13 over a sparsely populated land within Woomera Test Range in South Australia.

Blazing through the sky, the capsule's re-entry would be both a triumph of stick-to-it-ness and a tribute to scientific curiosity.

 

[EarthlingX]

www.jaxa.jp : Asteroid Explore "HAYABUSA" (MUSES-C) Completed TCM-3 operation, shift the target from Earth's outer rim to WPA

June 5, 2010 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that TCM-3 operation was successfully completed (1:44 p.m. June 5th, 2010 (JST)).
By this operation, Hayabusa was guided from Earth's outer rim toward WPA in Australia.

Hayabusa system is going well.

* TCM : Trajectory Correction Maneuver
* WPA : Woomera Prohibited Area

 

[the_harper]

I wish AAP and other news services would get it right. They're still claiming that Hayabusa is going to "touch down" in the Woomera Prohibited Area. In fact it's just the return capsule which it's hoped will land, and the majority of Hayabusa will burn up in the atmosphere. There have also been misquote on the size and weight of Hayabusa as opposed oth the return capsule.

 

[andrew_t1000]

The wierdest thing is JAXA had to get an import permit from the Federal Government here!
I mean WTF?

I have been talking with a news cameraman from one of the commercial stations here, if his editor ok's it, I might get to go along as gaffer, gopher, 2nd camera operator!

If it happens, count on me posting footage on YouTube/here!

Fingers crossed guys!

I'm still thinking of saying "procreate it" and going anyway!

 

[EarthlingX]

All right

Aussie bush trek on an alien interplanetary explorer rescue mission

Sounds like 'Oh, yea, please !'

 

[the_harper]

Andrew_t1000 - that would be excellent to see the re-entry, but I don't imagine the "aim" of Hayabusa will be too accurate. I'd have thought there would be little chance of being close enough to see the return capsule touch down unless you had a helicopter or plane and contact with the range radar operators tracking the capsule on its descent. Presumably you'd also need some sort of temporary security clearance for Woomera to be anywhere near where the capsule might land. By the way, did you know that the facilities at Woomera are called the WTF (Woomera Test Facility)? Look it up on the web.
I'm wondering what facilities are in the NASA DC8 that makes it useful under these circumstances. The last thing it did for NASA that I read about was scientific flights over Antarctica.
Presumably the closest the public will be allowed is the edge of the closed section of the highway?

 

[andrew_t1000]

The Stuart Highway runs just to the east of Woomera, Farina Station, which is where I'd probably go with just me and the hounds, is southish.
It's not that big a deal getting close to the "range" these days, when I was a kid all maps of the area had bright pink shading and dire warnings!

I was just thinking of going, setting up camp and using wide angle lenses on my still camera, "super nightshot" on video.
Even if it's just a streak it'll be worth it. I figure next morning there would be recovery action to film.

If I got a chance to go with the news guy, we'd be in the thick of it!

It's a beautiful area, a little stark and bleak, nasty in summer, but a great place to set up a telescope.
It's where we went to view Halley's Comet.

 

[shuttle_guy]

The Stuart Highway runs just to the east of Woomera, Farina Station, which is where I'd probably go with just me and the hounds, is southish.
It's not that big a deal getting close to the "range" these days, when I was a kid all maps of the area had bright pink shading and dire warnings!

I was just thinking of going, setting up camp and using wide angle lenses on my still camera, "super nightshot" on video.
Even if it's just a streak it'll be worth it. I figure next morning there would be recovery action to film.

If I got a chance to go with the news guy, we'd be in the thick of it!

It's a beautiful area, a little stark and bleak, nasty in summer, but a great place to set up a telescope.
It's where we went to view Halley's Comet.

I think is is worth a trip to try and see the entry. If I was you I would go for it.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[EarthlingX]

This are most updated status reports for Hayabusa that i know about, mainly because my Japanese is Google based, by Emily Lakdawalla, found on her Twitter page :

I think this says few will likely be able to witness Hayabusa or its sample capsule's fireball with optical scopes: http://bit.ly/9w1NSf

Above link Google translated : "Hayabusa" optical telescope observations of the earth return before

Very nice article with a lot of links, images and info :

planetary.org : Six days left for Hayabusa: A recap of the mission

Jun. 7, 2010 | 15:27 PDT | 22:27 UTC

By Emily Lakdawalla

The Hayabusa spacecraft is about to die.

On Sunday, June 13, at 14:00 UTC, Hayabusa will burn up in Earth's atmosphere, bringing its dramatic seven-year mission to an end. But, in doing so, it will hopefully return a tiny capsule that will hopefully contain some dust from an asteroid, and so become the first mission ever to return a sample of material snatched from the surface of a world beyond the Moon.

I will be posting frequent updates on the status of Hayabusa during these final days. While you wait for updates, you might enjoy reading about some of this mission's dramatic history. Hayabusa's mission has been one of dizzying highs and seemingly impossible-to-overcome lows. Here are some of the highlights, with links to feature articles and past blog entries.

 

[EarthlingX]

www.jaxa.jp : Asteroid Explore "HAYABUSA" (MUSES-C) Completed TCM-4 operation, precise guidance to WPA

June 9, 2010 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that TCM-4 operation was successfully completed (15:00 June 9th, 2010 (JST)). By this operation, Hayabusa spacecraft was precisely guided to WPA in Australia.

Hayabusa system is going well.

* TCM: Trajectory Correction Maneuver
* WPA Woomera Prohibited Area

 

[RVHM]

What is the likelihood of the capsule actually surviving re-entry and holding asteroid material which can be studied?

 

[MeteorWayne]

Pretty good I would think. It was designed for that specific task, to survive reentry, and with the last TCM sucessfully completed (Thanx EX) it's on target which means it should have anticipated loads and heating.

 

[the_harper]

Well done JAXA - against all odds, to get this far is an amazing achievement on a small budget. Let's hope there's a bit of dust to study!

 

[scottb50]

Pretty good I would think. It was designed for that specific task, to survive reentry, and with the last TCM sucessfully completed (Thanx EX) it's on target which means it should have anticipated loads and heating.

True it is doing just what it was supposed to do so a successful return should be anticipated. As far as returning samples that will only be determined upon examination. From data received it isn't a sure thing.

 

[EarthlingX]

I missed this :

airborne.seti.org : Hayabusa Sample Return Capsule Entry - Airborne Observing Campaign

LIVE - HAYABUSA RE-ENTRY

An attempt will be made to provide a live video feed of the Hayabusa Re-Entry in the minutes around the re-entry at 13:51 UT, Sunday June 13. The video will be chosen from cameras operated onboard NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory by Jesse Carpenter and Greg Merkes of NASA Ames Research Center, or those operated by Ron Dantowitz, Marek Kozubal, James Brietmeyer and Brigitte Berman of Clay Center Observatory, or those operated by Mike Taylor and Jonathan Snively of Utah State University. Please note that such downlinks have proven very difficult in past missions. The Hayabusa re-entry will be fainter than that of ATV-1 "Jules Verne" in 2008. Also, the video feed will be transmitted by the DC-8 aircraft via INMARSAT and may not be of high quality. Large volumes of traffic on this website may hinder watching this live feed. For that reason, shortly after the re-entry, we plan to upload higher quality video, first via the INMARSAT uplink on our way back, and later, after we land at Melbourne, via an internet communication.

* Click Here to see Live Video [around 13:45 - 13:55 UTC = 9:45 Ð 9: 55 a.m. EDT June 13, 2010]
* Click here for post-event video [around 13:55 Ð 15:00 UTC = 9:55 Ð 11:00 a.m. EDT]
* Click here for post-landing video [expected around 16:00 Ð 17:00 UTC = 12:00 a.m. Ð 1:00 p.m. EDT]

NEWS BLOG

June 09, 2010 - NASA issues a press release about our mission.

"Hayabusa is hurtling toward Earth at an immense speed, comparable to that of an asteroid impact," said Peter Jenniskens, the observation campaign's principal investigator and a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, Calif., and the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif. "The capsule that protects the asteroid sample will be only 6,500 feet ahead of the rest of the spacecraft, which will break into numerous pieces, essentially making it a man-made meteor."

"The return of Hayabusa provides NASA and JAXA with a rare opportunity to monitor the performance of an atmospheric entry vehicle at speeds much higher than that of the space shuttle returning from low-Earth orbit," said
Jay Grinstead, the observation campaign project manager and a research scientist at NASA Ames. "The spectrum of the light emitted by the gas and surface at these extreme temperatures tells us about the physics and chemistry of atmospheric entry. Our vantage point onboard the DC-8 and the variety of instruments enable us to track the evolution of the spectrum and compare it to simulations used for design and analysis of entry systems."

June 08, 2010 - We are taking off for Melbourne, via Hawaii! Our departure from Palmdale is scheduled for 8:30 this evening. We are as ready as can be at this time, looking forward to the opportunity to further practice operating our cameras during the transit flights, which will all be at night. Here, Jonathan Sniveley of Utah State University is loading his bags on the aircraft. Photo: Tom Schida of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's Photo department (Tom has many other photos available for media).

June 07, 2010 - Instruments were calibrated against the brightness of known lamps this evening. This involved raising continuum and wavelength calibration lamps to above the aircraft wing on a platform outside on the tarmac. Michael Winter and Alan Cassell of NASA Ames Research Center provided the calibration lamps. Erin Leidy of the SETI Institute REU program assisted in their operation. Inside the aircraft, Clay Center Observatory students Brigitte Berman and Yannis Karavas were among others who aimed at the lights and recorded their spectra.

...


http://airborne.seti.org/hayabusa/images.html

The final orbit of Hayabusa on approach to Earth. The orbit of Itokawa is also shown, as is the position of Hayabusa on August 29, 2009.
Credit: Image courtesy of JAXA.

 

[the_harper]

earthlingx - thanks for the update on the NASA DC8. I couldn't figure out what they wanted to achieve by having the DC8 there! :mrgreen:

BTW I realise that a 2D diagram of 3D space can be misleading, but does the asteroid's orbit potentially cross that of earth?

 

[3488]

Hi the_harper,

I would love to be on that DC-8 assisting if possible. I love that sort of thing.

21543 Itokawa doe not actually intersect the Earth's orbit, but does intersect that of Mars, so in theory 25143 Itokawa could impact Mars, Phobos or Deimos or even the Martian Trailing Trojan the 4 KM wide Asteroid 5261 Eureka (which would be a worthy target of a future mission, one of only 17 A Type asteroids known, similar to mantle material, surface of Mercury & the very rare E Type asteroids) at some point.

It would be something for Hayabusa to image the Earth & Moon during the dying days of the approach.

Andrew Brown.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Need to correct a few things here. First a typo, the designation is 25143 Itokawa, not 21543

Using the JPL sbdb close approach data, 5 of the 8 close approaches (<0.1 AU) to planets before 2200 AD are with Earth, including the closest in that time, and the closet in time. The distance to the Moon is about 0.0027 AU

They are:
Year.. AU..Planet

2071..0.027..Earth (~ 10X LD)
2154..0.028..Mars
2196..0.030..Earth
2137..0.040..Mars
2103..0.045..Earth
2135..0.058..Earth
2066..0.072..Mars
2033..0.085..Earth

I would crosscheck with NEODyS, but their site appears to be down at the moment.

Wayne

 

[andrew_t1000]

Sorry guys, my planned away mission just got scrubbed.....

/rant
I need a real job where I can actually get time off!
5 years, working 7 days a week is really getting frakin' old!
Grrrrrrr
/rant
Tide and turkeys wait for no one.........

 

[EarthlingX]

Another evidence of sucking quality of life .. I go suck a beer

the_harper, thanks, but if you check those links, and see something new, don't hesitate

I might spot the news, but as you can see, you will get very much better explanation from MeteorWayne or 3488