Space probe Hayabusa lands in Australia after 7-year trip

[n2doc]

The sample recovery capsule of the Hayabusa probe after its successful landing near Woomera, South Australia. (JAXA, EPA / June 13, 2010)

From Reuters
June 13, 2010 | 10:34 p.m.


SYDNEY, Australia — A Japanese space probe has landed in the Australian outback after a seven-year voyage to an asteroid, safely returning a capsule containing a unique sample of dust, Japanese mission controllers said Monday.

The Hayabusa probe blazed a spectacular trail over Australia before slamming into the desert around midnight local time, ending a journey to the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa that began in 2003.

A spokesman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) told Reuters the first image available indicated the capsule carrying the precious cargo had survived.

After sunrise, Australian defense officials flew local Aboriginal elders to the site by helicopter to verify that no sacred sites had been damaged. A defense spokesman said the indigenous leaders had cleared the way for the capsule to be recovered later Monday.
more


http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-hayabusa-probe-20100614,0,163348.story

[n2doc]

1. video of reentry

http://news.discovery.com/space/nasa-aircraft-videos-hayabusa-re-entry.html

[krispos42]

2. Finders keeper, Japan!

:P