The primary scientific objective of the Hayabusa (formerly Muses-C) mission was to collect a surface sample of material from the small (550 x 180 meter) asteroid 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36) and return the sample to Earth for analysis. Other scientific objectives of the mission included detailed studies of the asteroid's shape, spin state, topography, color, composition, density, photometric and polarimetric properties, interior and history.  Hayabusa launched in May 2003 and performed orbital operations at Itokawa in Sept.-Nov. 2005.

The Hayabusa spacecraft was successfully launched atop a Japanese M-V       
            launch vehicle on May 9, 2003.  The mission plan was to have the            
            spacecraft briefly alight upon the surface of near-Earth asteroid 25143     
            Itokawa, fire pellets into the surface, collect the surface material        
            ejecta and bring these surface samples back to Earth for intensive study.

Hayabusa Mission

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