M-V | Hayabusa

Name: M-V | Hayabusa
Start: 2003-05-09T04:29:25Z
Location: Uchinoura Space Center, Japan

MUSES-C (renamed Hayabusa after launch) is a sample return mission to the asteroid. Its primary goal is to acquire and verify technology which is necessary to retrieve samples from a small body in the solar system and to bring back them to the earth.

Mission Details

Launch date: May 9, 2003 at 04:29 AM UTC
Launch vehicle: M-V
Operator: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Launch site: Uchinoura Space Center, Japan
Mission type: Astrophysics