Asteroid Sample Return Capsule Returned More Than Expected! - Polidicks

[QUOTE] Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 Capsule yields more asteroid dust Kyodo News Several hundred more particles have been found inside the sample-collection container from the Hayabusa unmanned space probe, which returned from the asteroid Itokawa in June, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The particles, measuring up to about 0.1 mm, are larger than those found earlier in the container. They will be analyzed to confirm whether they are minerals from the asteroid, JAXA said Monday. About 1,500 particles in the capsule measure one-millionth to one-1,000th of a millimeter, according to the agency, which launched the probe in May 2003. Most of the particles found earlier have been determined as having originated from the asteroid. [/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101201b4.html[/url] See this fucker right here? [IMG]http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn11181/dn11181-1_550.jpg[/IMG] This motherfucker flew to an asteroid, caught up to it, caught into orbit, decelerated into the surface, and dropped a hopper with ultimate precision to catch samples. There was a mechanical failure and the hopper was released and it bounced off into space, propellant was spilt all over the place, contact was lost, the probe was dead and the plasma drives failed -- And in all that, the probe opened up its sample doors and some of the asteroid dust that was blown by the hopper hitting it went straight in. This bitch right here? It had its contact restores and its plasma engines frankensteined, and brought all the way back here. The sample capsule was released and Hayabusa turned around, and the engineers let it take another picture of the Earth -- A last image, before it tunneled down the atmosphere above Australia, stalled, and exploded, spraying small pieces of itself all over Woomera. The capsule had a single bit of asteroid rock -- Scarcely visible, but more are turning up as we speak. Somehow, the ship made it all the way there and back. Gotta love the Japanese.

That is a pretty awesome description.

Isn't that the one they had a guy in a helicopter with a hook flying around, planning to catch it as it descended?

[QUOTE=helpiminabox;26436313]That is a pretty awesome description.[/QUOTE] Gotta practice if one wants to write bestsellers. [editline]2nd December 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Ridge;26436367]Isn't that the one they had a guy in a helicopter with a hook flying around, planning to catch it as it descended?[/QUOTE] What the fuck what.

[QUOTE=Eudoxia;26436375]Gotta practice if one wants to write bestsellers. [editline]2nd December 2010[/editline] What the fuck what.[/QUOTE] There was a satellite that was supposed to do just this, try to capture particles in space, then fly back to Earth. But if it touched the ground, it would have been contaminated. So it was supposed to deploy parachutes, and a stunt pilot was supposed to fly by in a helicopter with a hook and try to catch it before it touched down. The parachutes failed, and the satellite smashed into the ground.

[QUOTE=Ridge;26436405]There was a satellite that was supposed to do just this, try to capture particles in space, then fly back to Earth. But if it touched the ground, it would have been contaminated. So it was supposed to deploy parachutes, and a stunt pilot was supposed to fly by in a helicopter with a hook and try to catch it before it touched down. The parachutes failed, and the satellite smashed into the ground.[/QUOTE] Wasn't that Stardust or something like that? This capsule I think was just designed to fall straight to Old North Australia and wait for technicians to pick it up.

Kamikaze satellite, sounds about right for Japan. its amazing that the capsule survived and was found

Wow what an awesome little probe. The Jananese sure did an excellent job!