Photos: Japanese probe greets asteroid

A Japanese space probe has arrived at its target, a potato-shaped asteroid named Itokawa. Next step, landing.

By Bill Detwiler, Contributor on July 19, 2006

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Itokawa

On Sept. 12, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa arrived within about 12 miles of a potato-shaped asteroid named Itokawa. The craft will begin mapping the asteroid and will then attempt to land on the surface in November and bring samples back to Earth.

A NASA probe recently collided with the Comet Tempel 1.

2 of 3 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET

First images

Here some of the first images of Itokawa taken on Sept. 10 from about 19 miles away. Itokawa, named after a Japanese scientist, is an Apollo and Mars-crosser asteroid because it crosses the orbits of both Earth and Mars.

3 of 3 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET

Hayabusa

This artist's rendition of the Hayabusa craft shows it orbiting the asteroid. The craft was launched on May 9, 2003, and reached within about 12 miles of the 2,000-foot-long asteroid on Sept. 12, 2005.

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