posted 06-17-2010 08:15 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Scott:
Am I correct to assume that the dark specks are asteroid material?

---

posted 06-21-2010 11:18 AM               

Hayabusa Capsule Arrived at JAXA Sagamihara Campus

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has completed the transportation of the Hayabusa capsule and its heat shields from Australia to the curation center in JAXA Sagamihara Campus at 2:15 a.m. on June 18th, 2010 (JST).

posted 06-30-2010 08:49 PM               

On the Schedule of Opening the Sample Container

We announce that we will start opening the sample container of Hayabusa on June 24, 2010 (Japan Standard Time) in the curation center at the JAXA Sagamihara Campus. It will take about one week to finish opening the sample container.

The curation operations are being carried out in cooperation with NASA.

posted 07-05-2010 08:24 AM               

Particles confirmed in the Hayabusa sample container

The origin of the particulate matter is unknown at this stage, whether it is from Earth or the asteroid. The particles will be studied closely.

posted 11-16-2010 07:45 AM               

Identification of origin of particles brought back by Hayabusa

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been engaged in collecting and categorizing particles in the sampler container* that were brought back by the instrumental module of the asteroid exploration spacecraft "Hayabusa."

Based on the results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and analyses of samples that were collected with a special spatula from sample catcher compartment "A", about 1,500 grains were identified as rocky particles, and most of them were judged to be of extraterrestrial origin, and definitely from Asteroid Itokawa.

Their size is mostly less than 10 micrometers, and handling these grains requires very special skills and techniques. JAXA is developing the necessary handling techniques and preparing the associated equipment for the initial (but more detailed) analyses of these ultra-minute particles.

posted 12-31-2010 12:15 PM               

Dec. 29, 2010: The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa spacecraft has brought home to Earth tiny pieces of an alien world–asteroid Itokawa.

"It's an incredible feeling to have another world right in the palm of your hand," says Mike Zolensky, Associate Curator for Interplanetary Dust at the Johnson Space Center, and one of the three non-Japanese members of the science team. "We're seeing for the first time, up close, what an asteroid is actually made of!"