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the AsteROID
ItOKAWA
The asteroid Itokawa is one of the near-earth objects orbiting between Earth
and Mars. It was discovered in 1998 and later named 25143 Itokawa after the
pioneering Japanese rocket scientist, Dr. Hideo Itokawa.
Relatively small in size, Itokawa measures only 535m x 294m x 209m and has
an irregular shape. While some parts of its surface are rough and rock-strewn,
others are smooth and more even. Analysis of the dust particles collected by
Hayabusa show they have been there for a few million years. Tests also sug-
gest that Itokawa is probably made up of interior fragments of a larger asteroid
that broke apart.
Prominent regions on the surface of Itokawa were given place names related
to the Hayabusa project.
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