Hayabusa 2

Author(s): DaveBowman2001 toutatis

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Hayabusa 2 is a JAXA sample-return mission launched to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 2014-Dec-3. It arrived on Ryugu in 2018-Dec-31 and collected samples from the asteroid twice in the following year. During its two year stay at Ryugu, it deployed three MINERVA-II "rovers" and the MASCOT hopper, before returning to Earth on 2020-Dec-6.

It is now on its extended mission to study two asteroids, 2001 CC₂₁ and 1998 KY₂₆, on two subsequent encounters on 2026 and 2031 respectively

NOTES:

• Hayabusa2's primary mission from 2014 to 2019 requires the asteroid 162173 Ryugu installed first on Celestia
• For the two asteroid flybys on its extended mission on 2026 and 2031, download the asteroids named 98943 (2001 CC₂₁) and (1998 KY₂₆)
• Due to currently limited trajectory data, the actual flyby of 1998 KY₂₆ will not (yet) occur, but the last known orbital data enables the spacecraft to at least share a common orbit with the asteroid around the Sun

Hayabusa 2 hovering beside 162173 Ryugu, 2018-2019

Hayabusa 2 before (left, 2012) and during launch (right, 2014)

Earth as viewed by Hayabusa 2 during its first (left) and second (right) flyby encounters

The surface of Ryugu as seen by MASCOT and the two MINERVA-II-1 rovers, 2018

Hayabusa2 performing its first sampling touchdown on Ryugu, 2019-Feb-21

The sample return capsule of Hayabusa 2 being retrieved by JAXA scientists, 2020-Dec-6

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