Spacecraft returns,with hopes of asteroid dust

Seiichi Sakamoto of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,which launched the explorer in 2003,said they were “delighted” to recover the capsule,particularly after a number of technical problems delayed Hayabusa’s arrival for three years. “It was an extremely difficult technological challenge,and we did everything to overcome the troubles one by one,” he said.

On Monday,two helicopters took scientists to the capsule’s landing site in the Woomera Prohibited Area,485 km from Adelaide. The capsule was airlifted to the town of Woomera,where it would be prepared for air freighting to Japan,NASA scientist Scott Sandford said by telephone from Woomera.

The capsule will return to Japan before scientists discover whether it carries any asteroid dust in its sample canister. “It’ll be some time before we know if we’ve got sample,and if so,how much — I don’t think we can assume anything,” Sandford said.

Hayabusa reached an asteroid called Itokawa in 2005. After taking photos of the 500-metre-long asteroid,Hayabusa landed on it twice in late 2005.

The craft was designed to shoot a bullet into the surface of the asteroid that would crush and propel material through a long tube into a sample collection container. There is no certainty the bullet actually fired,scientists say,but they believe the impact of the tube’s landing would have forced some material into the collection chamber.