H-IIA 202 | Hayabusa-2

Hayabusa2 (Japanese: はやぶさ2, "Peregrine falcon 2") is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA. It follows on from the Hayabusa mission which returned asteroid samples in June 2010. Hayabusa2 carries multiple science payloads for remote sensing, sampling, and four small rovers that investigated the asteroid surface to inform the environmental and geological context of the samples collected.

Mission Details

  • Launch date: December 3, 2014 at 04:22 AM UTC
  • Launch vehicle: H-IIA
  • Operator: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
  • Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
  • Mission type: Robotic Exploration