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Hayabusa Probe Arrives at Destination
david.given writes "The Japanese space probe Hayabusa has just arrived at its destination, the asteroid Itokawa, and is taking pictures. The largely autonomous ion-drive powered vehicle was launched in 2003 and was supposed to have arrived last year, but a solar flare damaged the solar panels causing a reduction in power. It will study the asteroid for two months before collecting a sample from the surface and departing for Earth, which it should reach in 2007. It's a pity that NASA's asteroid rover, which Hayabusa was going to drop off, got cancelled due to budgetry constraints..."
Attempts such as this do raise questions, that I am hoping scientists have already researched and are protecting against. We don't want any scientific research to cause issues here on Earth.
As happened in Andromeda Strain, hopefully the contents of this asteroid, that Hayabusa brings back to Earth, will not have any harmful bacteria or organisms present, that could cause great harm to life on Earth. I know this may sound like a conspiracy therory, but we have no clue what other elements exist outside of our small planet. There are so many others out there in the galaxies and universes, and we are such a miniscule part of things.
Hayabusa taking longer then expected is kind of ironic though, considering that a Hayabusa is one of the fastest production sport bikes available for sale today. I guess space travel and land travel are two different categories, but hopefully this ion drive engine will be great technology for future missions to space.
It is nice to see such engineering technologies being created for space travel, which hopefully can be applied to manned missions to other planets, as well as ways for energy efficient travel on Earth potentially being created.
It is too bad, that NASA didn't include a rover on this mission, would have been nice to explore and perform more testing on surface composition and the like... yet as always, budgets are never there for real research, but always there for wasted efforts in other areas...
Lets stand by and see some of these beautiful pictures sure to come from this probe...
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Will it use the magical firewheel of protection, or be followed by a hazy clone of itself that mimics its actions?
/ryu hayabusa... ninja gaiden. ding.
I am scientifically inaccurate.
If it is a robot from Japan, you kind of half expect it to have arms and legs and dance some kind of techno-jig on the roid.
Table-ized A.I.
I am impressed by the Japanese mission:
HAYABUSA's mission: to bring back samples from an asteroid and investigate the mysteries of the birth of the solar system.
And I am sufficiently unimpressed by NASA's inability to even piggyback a rover with this. There is so much science to do that doesn't have to do with rocketry, that doesn't have to do with sending people into space, that doesn't have to do with spending billions on a boondoggle space program that is more concerned with keeping certain government vendors in the money rather than actually getting real science done.
Mars Rovers: Good NASA
Space Shuttle: Bad NASA
Hubble ST: Good NASA
ISS: NASA can't even send people up there to rendezvous
I'm sure someone will want to say "what about that big ol' comet we blasted with our satellite. Did we get any samples back? Did we get anything new except maybe a little more practice at aiming our missiles? Not really.
Hayabusa looks like it's going to be headed back to Earth with samples. Real science. I just wish it were Americans at the leading edge of scientific space exploration.
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
..to get samples from any extra-terrestrial object, I think what is going to be most important out of this project is the ion-driven technology that propels the craft, as well as the re-entry capsule. Though it certianly might have been nice if they could have made the whole craft re-enterable; these things are far from cheap, and anything reusable goes a long way towards motivating people to supporting funding in NASA/JAXA.
Going back to school for entry-level jobs?
...did Hayabusa get his revenge?
Circumcision is child abuse.
How many times do we have to make ethnocentric comments that border on racism?
For one thing, Japanese are more open-minded towards Americans than we are to them.
The Japanese send a probe to an asteroid, and it's name is "Itokawa".
Our probes always land on places with names like "Titan" and "XJ-344b".
Obviously their technology is much more advanced than ours.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
"its name". Sorry.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
From the post: "but a solar flare damaged the solar panels causing a reduction in power."
And now that it's so very close to its target, we have another one coming.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
whoopty friggin' doo
Multi-Billion dollar spelunking expeditions in outer space. What could we all POSSIBLY do with billions of dollars right here on Earth to benefit us all right now? Hmmm... alternative energy research? Nah. Cures for debilitating and deadly diseases? Nah. Improving the infrastructures of impovershed nations? Nah. Teaching people how to farm and improving their ability to do so to help keep them from satrving to death? Nah. Let's use it to study big rocks that are floating around in a vacuum and are composed of minerals & metals found right here on Earth already.
Screwed up priorities by people and governments with billions of dollars to throw around on rock hounding in outer space while watching fellow humans suffer and die due to curable and stoppable causes at this very moment.
"It is essential that justice be done
The asteroid 'Alma' is proving very difficult for said probe to destroy
Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
As an aside, to Japanese spacecraft have particular trouble with solar flares? Or just horrible luck? Didn't they have a Mars probe stagger past that planet but not make orbit for about the same reasons?
Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
"A solar flare damaged the solar panels causing a reduction in power."
Ah, powered by irony. Those Japanese are always on the cutting edge.
TLoM: Nerds + DDR + Rednecks for the win!
By cancelling all these pork barrel projects the administration was able to give you a tax refund. I enjoyed my three hundred dollars. It paid for the gas for my huge honkin' SUV for a whole month. It would have been two months except that Dick and George's arab friends raised their prices. But at least all those refunds went to a good cause. If the democrats were still running things a lot of our disposable income would be going to cocaine farmers in South America. But we can rest assured that when the robed men that George Bush holds hands with collect our extra cash that they will do something good with it. I'll bet they have lots of charitable causes that they donate to. Yup, I hear those Saudi's give to lots of worthy organizations... So the next time you complain about not adding some expensive, experimental gadget to some japanese rocket just think for a second about where that money would come from and have a little sympathy for those poor millionaires who would have to cut back on single malt scotch and exotic asian hookers. And for what? So some scientists can drive a remote control car around on an asteroid. We don't need Science to tell us about the universe. Everything you need to know is in the GoOD Book. Want to know how the universe was created? Pick up a Bible and read. It's right there in the first chapter.
Liberals call everyone Nazis yet they are the closest thing to it.
Regards,
Steve
Some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. space program are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research. We should be spending more.
Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program! That's less than 1 penny for every dollar spent. The average American spends more of their budget on their cable bill, eating out or entertainment than this yet the benefits of space flight are remarkable. It has been conservatively estimated by U.S. space experts that for every dollar the U.S. spends on R and D in the space program, it receives $7 back in the form of corporate and personal income taxes from increased jobs and economic growth. Besides the obvious jobs created in the aerospace industry, thousands more are created by many other companies applying NASA technology in nonspace related areas that affect us daily. One cannot even begin to place a dollar value on the lives saved and improved lifestyles of the less fortunate. Space technology benefits everyone and a rising technological tide does raise all boats.
One small example is the Hubble Space Telescope. Much maligned at first because of its flawed optics, it still produced better photographs than anything here on Earth. Once fixed, it has produced even more startling scientific data which we have only begun to understand and apply. One of the many spinoffs from the Hubble telescope is the use of its Charge Coupled Device (CCD) chips for digital imaging breast biopsies. The resulting device images breast tissue more clearly and efficiently than other existing technologies. The CCD chips are so advanced that they can detect the minute differences between a malignant or benign tumor without the need for a surgical biopsy. This saves the patient weeks of recovery time and the cost for this procedure is hundreds of dollars vs. thousands for a surgical biopsy. With over 500,000 women needing biopsies a year the economic benefit, per year, is tremendous and it greatly reduces the pain, scarring, radiation exposure, time, and money associated with surgical biopsies.
Below is a "small" sampling of the many other ways that space technology has improved our lives and benefited mankind. It is truly a remarkable list and not nearly complete but I believe you will begin to appreciate the answers to "Why do we go in space" and "What does the space program do for me?" So the next time you hear these questions being asked, you will be able to explain it.
Computer Technology - NASA Spinoffs
GROUND PROCESSING SCHEDULING SYSTEM - Computer-based scheduling system that uses artificial intelligence to manage thousands of overlapping activities involved in launch preparations of NASA's Space Shuttles. The NASA technology was licensed to a new company which developed commercial applications that provide real-time planning and optimization of manufacturing operations, integrated supply chains, and customer orders.uu
SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING - NASA initiative led to the Memory Short Stack, a three-dimensional semiconductor package in which dozens of integrated circuits are stacked one atop another to form a cube, offering faster computer processing speeds, higher levels of integration, lower power requirements than
I think it's hilarious that slashdot is on the one hand a reliable bastion of mainstream science, pro-evolution, anti-intelligent-design, etc.
While on the other hand, the readers subscribe to the most bizarre ideas. For example, the parent post (right now the only post at score +5), bemoans the dangers of Japanese space probes bringing back "other elements" from "the galaxies and universes".
But this is only scratching the surface. You only need to browse a few days to find dozens of highly-moderated posts about secret Pentagon weather-control devices, diseases caused by internet telephonty and so on.
It would be funny -- even hilarious -- except that the readers of slashdot are actually among the most well-read and technically-minded people in the world. So instead, I must say, woe to the people of Earth!
I thought the GP's post was a brilliant troll, but then I read yours and saw how outclassed he really is.
Who said NASA'a space shuttle was bad? It is revolutionary, just expensive as hell and slightly ahead of its time
It's like watching Bobby Flay slice open a flounder. Elegant, deft, and just a little bit repulsive. Bravo!
http://outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher1.html
"So anyway, the whole "black men have big dicks" stereotype stretches far and wide, even to the nation's 12 year olds. Part of why I'm here is not just to kind of sort of help teach English, but to "broaden cultural perceptions". Break stereotypes, challenge preconcieved notions, all that jazz. That's good and all, but this is one stereotype I think I'm just gonna let slide.
So anyway, I get asked "bigu dikku" A LOT. Every 2-3 days in fact, which is amazing considering I got asked this question about 2-3 times *in my entire life* in America. Locker room jokes aside. How do you answer that anyway? To a 12-15 year old? I wave them off and say "No no no." Then they say "Oh, sumaru dikku?" (trans. "Small dick?") and OF COURSE that's wrong so I have to correct them. It's just a no-win stiuation."
The latest Slashdot meme.
Actually, the probe would have been there much much sooner, but someone accidentally entered "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start" when they should have entered "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start".
It's a common mistake. It's too bad it had to happen on the controls to this thing though.
NASA has, however, licensed the control technology used on this probe. Unfortunately, they are unsure as to whether or not their current shuttle control systems have enough power to be able to take commands from the unit. Fortunately, when the engineers do something wrong, they will have the assurance of being able to grab the cord 1 foot up from the controls and smack it repeatedly into a cement basement floor with no damage.
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...welcome our robotic Japanese asteroid exploring probe overlords, even if they no longer carry NASA rovers. C'mon, laugh! At least I didn't mention Beowulf clusters or Soviet Russia.
Quantum mechanics: the dreams that stuff is made of.
It seems like these probes that study asteroids are really grasping at straws. What are we looking for in the asteroids? Are we looking for anything specific? Why are we looking for that? Etc. All knowledge is worth having but searching without a particular goal in mind is unlikely to get good results.
Well, that was certainly fast!
Damn it, I've got the mod points but I decided to post something before I read this -1 flamebait drivel. Now I regret wasting my chance!
Orationem pulchram non habens, scribo ista linea in lingua Latina
That wasn't flamebait. You want to see flamebait? G E O R G E B U S H is flamebait!
"Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
Communications from the Hayabusa probe suddenly and mysteriously fell silent after it returned this image http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Godz illa.jpg.
That's one fast motorbike and a hell of a ramp.
Than man's earlier findings of precious minerals. Those often were followed up with lots of innocent people being massacred, or having a metal collar snapped around their neck, and literaly stuffed
like sardines in the hulls of ships.
That's no troll! Ghost Rider's 500hp Hayabusa is a legend! http://www.level66.com/viewer-26831.html
Actually, I have to admit - when I saw the headline, the first thing I thought was "I knew Hayabusas were crotch rockets, but that's extreme..."
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Windows has detected an undetectable error.
It will study the asteroid for two months before collecting a sample from the surface and departing for Earth
The original press release was edited by the Japanese Government, the original version read as follows:
It will study the asteroid for two months before awaking Godzilla.
"the readers of slashdot are actually among the most well-read and technically-minded people in the world"
/.ers using the word "anyways" lends to my belief that you are all a bunch of back-country hicks. This site is only lightly peppered with intelligent conversation anymore.
Would you care to publish the study you did that brought you to this conclusion? The number of times I have seen
All hail the Flying Toasters!
So anyway, I get asked "bigu dikku" A LOT. Every 2-3 days in fact, which is amazing considering I got asked this question about 2-3 times *in my entire life* in America. Locker room jokes aside. How do you answer that anyway?
You say something like: "It's SO big, I had to buy a house with a double garage to park it in there."
HAYABUSA will not only gather samples but also observe the asteroid with various scientific devices and measures. For that purpose, it is equipped with a Telescope Wide-View Cameras and Light Detection and Ranging, as well as with a Near Infrared Spectrometer. It will also employ a hopping robot, which can move around on the asteroid's surface.
A hopping robot? Sounds suspiciously like Looney Tunes. The big question is "Did they complete the programming so that it can steal the Explosive Space Modulator from Marvin when he lands on the asteroid?"
The Hayabusa probe is great and all, but I was hoping the space agencies would recognize the true great of videogame wrestling and name a probe after Kin Korn Karn.
I mean, he's done so much more for science than Mr. Generic.
We can put a Hayabusa on an Itokawa, but we still can't cure the common cold.
Proverbs 21:19
"The Japanese space probe Hayabusa has just arrived at its destination, the asteroid Itokawa, and is taking pictures." Will the Japanese tourist stereotypes never end?
I've heard talk about ion engines for a long time, but this is the first time I've heard of one actually being used. Of course, it's quite possible I haven't been paying attention... Does NASA use ion engines on its deep space probes? If not, is this a significant breakthrough? That is, are there notable advantages to ion propulsion over conventional rocket engines?
Great men are almost always bad men--Lord Acton's Corollary
> HAYABUSA is traveling through space using an ion engine.
Well f*** me! I thought that kind of sh** was still on the drawing board!
When can I go rent a sleeping pod in a space station?
Sh**, I can do that too, now? $20 million and dropping?
Ok, next question. Where's the sexbot?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
> Hayabusa arrived [at asteroid] Itokawa
Go USA!
- The scientific observation will be conducted for about two months including sampling and topographic measurement.
- It will orbit the asteroid, land on it, and bring back a sample from its surface.
- HAYABUSA employs a new technology - the ion engine
- Autonomous Navigation System, which enables the probe to approach a far-away asteroid without human guidance.
- It will also employ a hopping robot, which can move around on the asteroid's surface.
USA! USA! USA! Our technological superiority is the envy of the world!
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Oh, that's HaraJUKU...
The funny thing is that the meteorites, stuff that falls to Earth, is judged to be mainly asteroids with the odd piece of Moon or Mars. Comets don't seem to generate meteorites, but they generate most of the meteors -- I guess comets are made of too small pieces or grains to make it all the way down without burning up.
Is there anything we will learn from this asteroid that we don't know from meteorites? Is this asteroid representative of a class of asteroids known from their spectra? It is believed that the known meteorites are a biased sample of the asteroids -- probably it is only a few asteroids that had recent collisions spalling off material that is feeding the current supply of meteorites.
The two types of asteroid I am most interested are the C-type -- a common type of asteroid but rare among the meteorites. It would be interesting to know the connection between these carbonaceous asteroids and the comets. The other type of asteroid of great interest would be the metallic ones on account of the mining potential.
Man, that sig is priceless :)
Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors!
My Buddy has a Huyabusa 2002 1300cc and that thing can scream !!! He can stand it up doing 100MPH. I hear that the German's call the Huyabusa's (Suzuki GSXR 2002 1300) "The WidowMaker" I know this thing is poerfull, but who would have known they would take them to outer space.... LOL
Paul E. Bahre