Asteroids – Page 9 – Spaceflight Now

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 asteroid mission checks out

March 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three months into an interplanetary cruise expected to last three-and-a-half years, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe is in good health as it begins an ion-powered pursuit of an asteroid to return a piece of it to Earth.

Bonus fuel could change OSIRIS-REx flight plan

February 5, 2015 Stephen Clark

A NASA spacecraft under construction for launch in 2016 to retrieve samples from asteroid Bennu could benefit from an extra load of fuel, allowing an extended stay at the asteroid or a return to Earth a year early.

Asteroid and its moon revealed in radar imagery

January 29, 2015 Stephen Clark

Radar imagery of a mountain-size asteroid that approached Earth this week revealed the tiny world has its own moon.

NASA, JAXA reach asteroid sample-sharing agreement

December 15, 2014 Stephen Clark

Scientists from the United States and Japan plan to share asteroid specimens from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa 2 sample return missions under an agreement signed by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.