It was on 9 of this month, Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft successfully completed a practice approach to asteroid Itokawa. With all disappointment, Japan’s space agency has lost contact with the robotic probe, according to a BBC report. The current status of the small probe called Minerva is still unknown, which was released from its mother-ship Hayabusa. Hovering near asteroid Itokawa, Hayabusa is preparing to collect surface samples for return to Earth. It should begin its return voyage to Earth next month to arrive in 2007. But the loss of Minerva comes as a blow to Japan’s ambitious plan to make the first two-way trip to an asteroid. The 600g cylindrical probe was to have photographed the asteroid’s surface and recorded temperatures there.
Via: BBC News
Japan Lost Link With Asteroid Robot Minerva
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