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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..."
Hate to break it to you, but in terms of failure rate, the Japanese space program is so far ahead of NASA it isn't even funny, yeah this one was successful, but overall the Japanese space program has been an expensive disaster. They have sent probe after probe after probe only to have them destroyed, they struggle to get even a basic satellite in orbit.....
NASA isn't perfect, but saying they are "behind" the Japanese space program is well, simply not true.
Monstar L
That probably isn't exactly fair to ISAS, which has merged with NASDA that was plagued with failure after failure with its H-I and II rockets. These institutions now form JAXA, instead.
The ISAS's mu-series rocket has been fairly successful, except for a major failure of M-V rocket that carried ASTRO-E1 mission in 2000. So comparing NASA and ISAS is like apple-and-orange comparison that makes no sense, either.
Hayabusa was launched by ISAS, FWIW.
The GPP is a troll, but not entirely wrong. We didn't really know that dark matter existed until the recent COBE microwave data confirmed that theory for odd galactic rotation speeds, and we still aren't sure what dark matter really is. Not a new "chemical element" of course, but something weirder. Who knows what else is out there (not on nearby asteroids of course, but OUT there) - all we know is what we see through telescopes from our little backwater. Heck, there might even be new chemical elements, if there really is an "island of stability" past 120 or so (though I hear that hypothesis is losing credibility these days).
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
It always all boils down to money. I don't know your age, but if you are over 50, then you may remember real money. They don't have it anymore, and yet, that's all they seem to talk about.
I am less interested in the origins of the Universe, and more interested in mining the asteroids. It is very possible, that by mining the asteroids rather than the Earth, that our planet might be saved.
There is the problem of gravitation, and the effect that might be had on the solar system by changing it's mass around. That is left to be seen. Remember that Einstein omitted instantaneous gravitation, because not enough was known about it at the time.
Now I think that modern astronomers and physicists do have a great deal more data, and that they can make these predictions more accurately. I also think that bombarding comets is a potential mistake, and very possibly dangerous.
I also think that it's high time for ancient politics to pass away, and for us to escape the Earth. I am very sorry that I am too old to go, but I do have great hope for the kids.
Michael