The probe is made of stitched-together engines

Nov 21, 2009 08:25 GMT  ·  By

The Japanese space agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa space probe is a sample-return mission sent to collect data on the small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa. The probe was launched on May 9, 2003, met up with the object, and then landed on it due to a glitch. It managed to take off however, and is currently heading back to Earth. But the return trip was plagued by misfortune, and all four of its ion thrusters were to some extent damaged or rendered non-operational. However, mission engineers managed to stitch two of them together, to act like a single, fully-functional one.

With the improvised propulsion system, the spacecraft now resembles Frankenstein, lurking on its way back home. The accomplishment is very important. JAXA engineers believe the sample chambers of the probe were filled with dust emanating from 25143 Itokawa. As such, returning the craft to Earth is currently very important. Forecasts on Hayabusa's ability to navigate to Earth were bleak just a few days ago, when the fourth engine, and the last operating one, suffered from the same type of glitch that rendered the other three inert, NewScientist reports.

The announcement that let everyone know two engines were operating as one came straight from JAXA on Thursday. Basically, one of the engines is in charge with spewing out the positive ions required to produce the weak thrust that makes the spacecraft move, while the other engine is in charge of eliminating the negatively charged electrons. The latter step is required so as to prevent the electric charge buildup on the spacecraft. Through this improvised setup, Hayabusa is currently able to maintain a delicate balance of thrust and electrical charges. JAXA engineers hope that this setup will endure until the spacecraft returns back to Earth.

According to the official flight plan, the probe is scheduled to return home in June 2010. This date was planned after the November 4 glitch in one of the ion thrusters. Mission controllers hope to be able to respect this schedule with the improvised setup, although they are cautious in expressing certainty that the probe will make it back. However, if everything goes as it should, by mid-2010, the capsule containing the sample chambers will make their way to the Australian outback, from where they will be recovered by the Japanese scientists.