Hayabusa Successfully Captured Itokawa Shape For The First Time In Space

As of September 4th morning of 2005, Hayabusa is at approximately 1,000 km toward Earth with respect to Itokawa, a near Earth asteroid target of the spacecraft, with the approach speed of 10 km per hour.

By Space War Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published September 6, 2005

Hayabusa took a series of its Optical Navigation Camera aboard on the day and the photos revealed, for the first time in space, the shape information of Itokawa. Left one was taken when the brightness was at the top, while the right one was at the bottom. The upward direction here is almost identical to the north of the ecliptic frame.

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Space War Editorial Team

The Space War Editorial Team produces content across our two editorial pillars: space industry news and Mind & Meaning. We cover launches, missions, satellites, defense, and the technology of getting humans to space, alongside the psychology of ambition, isolation, and meaning under extremes. Articles reflect our team's collective editorial process, source verification, drafting, technical review, and editing, rather than a single writer's work. Space War takes editorial responsibility for content under this byline. For more on how we work, see our editorial policy.