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MIssION
Before the Hayabusa mission, the Moon was the only astronomi-
cal body from which physical samples of the surface had been
gathered. But, since the Moon has changed greatly over time due
to thermal processes, these samples could tell us little about the
origins of our solar system. Asteroids, being smaller, were thought
to contain a more pristine record of the planet-forming era. If a
soil sample could be obtained from the surface of an asteroid, it
could provide new clues about the fi rst stages of a solar nebula
and the raw materials that formed planets. This became the goal
of the Hayabusa mission.
8
sAMPLes
More than 1500 individual particles of dust from the surface of
Itokawa were found in the capsule of Hayabusa when it returned
to Earth – the largest only 0,3 mm in size.
Detailed analysis has shown components such as olivine,
pyroxene, plagioclase and iron sulfi de were present. Researchers
now believe Itokawa was formed immediately after the birth of the
solar system 4.5 billion years ago, when celestial bodies, such as
the smaller asteroids, collided together.
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