More about Hayabusa
Sep. 18th, 2005 03:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mmcirvinA. J. S. Rayl writes in detail about the Hayabusa asteroid probe and its mission, target and technology.
I didn't realize that asteroid Itokawa is so small—just 490 by 180 meters, about the same size as Pine Banks up the street from here. Its gravity is extraordinarily feeble, and I would imagine that the dust that Hayabusa wants to sample would be extremely loosely packed and easy to dislodge. The photos that have come back seem to show it pooled around the asteroid's midsection, which I suppose makes sense.
I didn't realize that asteroid Itokawa is so small—just 490 by 180 meters, about the same size as Pine Banks up the street from here. Its gravity is extraordinarily feeble, and I would imagine that the dust that Hayabusa wants to sample would be extremely loosely packed and easy to dislodge. The photos that have come back seem to show it pooled around the asteroid's midsection, which I suppose makes sense.