Space Probe Returns After 7-Year Asteroid Voyage
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Japanese space probe landed in the Australian outback on Monday after a 7-year voyage to an asteroid, lighting up the night sky and bringing what scientists hope is a rock sample, witnesses said.
The Hayabusa probe blazed a spectacular trail as it came in to hit the ground at a blistering speed, ending a journey to the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa that began in 2003.
An Australian defense spokesman told Reuters scientists monitoring the probe's return had confirmed it had landed and identified its location, but it would not be retrieved until daylight. Only then would it become clear if a capsule thought to contain the precious sample was intact.
Hayabusa, which means falcon in Japanese, landed on the irregularly shaped asteroid in 2005 and scientists think it managed to pick up a small sample of material. If successful, it would be the first time a spacecraft has brought such a sample back to Earth, other than from our own Moon.
Witnesses said the probe shone brilliantly as it moved across the southern winter sky over the Woomera weapons testing range in South Australia state, on schedule at around midnight (11:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday).
Go there Read more...http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10899784
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment