Since December 9, contact with the spacecraft has been cut off, and the chances of it being restored until the close of the launch window towards Earth (until the end of December) are slim
The Japanese spacecraft Yabusa is currently undergoing a series of operations in an attempt to renew its communications with ground stations on Earth. The spacecraft experienced sudden disturbances in its torque, due to a fuel leak that occurred earlier and communication with it has been lost since December 9. The project team is optimistic about the possibility of restoring communications soon. However, the delay hurts the chances of the spacecraft's return to Earth in June 2007. In the meantime, the orbits of the spacecraft and the Earth are moving further apart, and it will be necessary to wait three more years until the spacecraft's return - to June 2010.
On December 8, the ground control personnel noticed that the range measuring devices had moved and as a result the control signal was weakened. The measurements and the intensity changed slowly and apparently they are due to the gas leak that happened at the end of November. On November 26-27, the Japanese scientists fired the engine. On the 29th the spacecraft landed on the asteroid. The media also returned and it turned out that the ignition was carried out as planned.
On December 8, the Japanese tried to renew the propulsion of the spacecraft with the chemical engine and the spacecraft went into a slow rotation for six minutes. Since the beginning of December, the Japanese have been operating the spacecraft's Zenon engine in emergency mode, but this attempt was not strong enough for the spacecraft to avoid further malfunctions. Now it is possible that the spacecraft is in a conical motion and that is why the spacecraft is not responding to the commands sent to it from the control center.
As mentioned, contact with the spacecraft has been lost since December 9. Analyzes of the position of the spacecraft in relation to the Sun and the Earth show that it may be possible to resume contact within a few months. In light of all these malfunctions, the spaceship is lost and loses its exit window to Earth, and if the connection is not renewed accordingly, the Japanese will be forced to place it in orbit around the Sun and depart from it to Earth towards 2010.
The operating mode of the spacecraft will go from normal mode to rescue mode for several months to a year. A long-term forecast indicates a high probability that it will be possible to renew the connection using the powerful antenna of the Ushoda Space Center. It is estimated that the amount of Xenon gas on the spacecraft is sufficient for its return to Earth.
Doubts about the success of Yabusa to collect soil samples
9/12/2005
The Japanese spacecraft that landed twice on the asteroid Itokawa failed to collect the soil samples, and this casts doubt on the question of declaring the success of the mission, which was mainly intended to return soil samples to Earth. This is what senior officials at the Japanese space agency JAXA said on Thursday.
Data from the spacecraft, which is hovering a few kilometers from the asteroid, does not indicate that the spacecraft fired a metal projectile at the surface of the asteroid during the landing as previously believed.
According to Seiji Aoyama of the Japanese Space Agency: Now we won't know until Yabosa reaches Earth, and we leave the question open," Oyama said. On November 26, JAXA announced that Yabosa appeared to have touched the ground, firing the projectile to cause dust Board the pickups on board and take off again to transmit the data to mission controllers.
The landing on November 26 was the second in about a week after a first attempt failed, and the mornings had no idea that the spacecraft had landed until several days later, long after it had left the asteroid.
Still, there is a faint possibility that the spacecraft's own impact with the ground released enough particles that could be collected. Oyama says.
The Yabusa was launched in 2003 and was supposed to land in the Australian desert in June 2007, but a technical glitch could cause its arrival to be delayed. The malfunction is due to damage to its propeller after the second takeoff from Itokawa, which caused the Jacada to shut down the engine. The agency has until December 10 to fix the problem. On this date the Yabosa must begin its journey to Earth. Beyond this date, it will be necessary to wait two more years because the spacecraft's orbit around the sun, adjacent to the asteroid's orbit, takes about two years.
