Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Aug 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006iaujd..10e...4y&link_type=abstract
Progress in Planetary Exploration Missions, 26th meeting of the IAU, Joint Discussion 10, 21-22 August 2006, Prague, Czech Repub
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
The Hayabusa spacecraft, which was launched in May 2003, arrived at Asteroid Itokawa in September 2005. The size of Itokawa is about 540 m in length, so it is the smallest celestial object that manmade spacecraft has ever visited. The view of Itokawa was totally unexpected. The surface of Itokawa is covered with numerous boulders and we could see only a few craters on it. Hayabusa carried out scientific observations of Itokawa in detail for about two months by using four instruments; AMICA (Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera), NIRS (Near-Infrared Spectrometer), XRS (X-ray Spectrometer), and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging Instrument). The surface of Itokawa is basically divided into two parts, smooth terrain and rough terrain, and we found many geographical and geological features form the images of AMICA with the resolution of less than 1 cm at the most. Also we found from the data of NIRS and XRS that the surface material of Itokawa is similar to LL-chondrite of ordinary chondrite. The mass of Itokawa was estimated by the orbit analysis of Hayabusa by using LIDAR and the radiometric data. Then the bulk density was calculated as 1.9 g/cm^3 by using the obtained shape model of Itokawa. This low density indicates the macroporosity of about 40%. From these results, we have concluded that Itokawa is a rubble pile asteroid. After these scientific observations, Hayabusa tried to approach Itokawa closely several times in November 2005, and finally Hayabusa executed touchdown on the surface of Itokawa twice. The second touchdown was executed as scheduled but after that we had troubles in the operation of Hayabusa. We are not sure that some surface materials were taken or not. However, expecting to have some samples, we are now trying to make Hayabusa come back to the earth in June 2010. The information about the mission of Hayabusa can be accessed from the following web site. http://www.hayabusa.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index.html
Fujiwara Akira
Kawaguchi Jun'ichiro
Yoshikawa Makoto
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