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There were not one, but two asteroid encounters this weekend
Ars Technica • • general
Key Points:
- Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft, launched in 2014, successfully completed a flyby of the asteroid 98943 Torifune as part of an extended mission after returning samples from asteroid Ryugu in 2020.
- Hayabusa2 passed within 800 meters of Torifune, a 450-meter-long asteroid, and transmitted partial scientific data back to Earth, with more data expected during future operations.
- The spacecraft is planned to make a final flyby of a small near-Earth object, 1998 KY26, in July 2031, continuing its decade-long extended mission.
- China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft arrived within 20 km of the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa on July 2, beginning detailed scientific observations and preparing for sample collection.
- Tianwen-2 aims to return asteroid samples to Earth by November 2027, with plans to extend its mission to explore and orbit asteroid 311P/PanSTARRS, which may have comet-like tails.
