Panel OK's development of Hayabusa successor

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A Space Activities Commission panel studying the possibility of a successor to the space probe Hayabusa recommended Thursday starting full-scale development on the next generation of the craft.

In response to the panel's conclusion, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will ask for funds for research and development on the successor probe in its budget request for next fiscal year.

The plan is for Hayabusa 2 to travel to asteroid 1999JU3, land on it, gather surface material and return to Earth. 1999JU3 is thought to be rich in organic substances. Material from the asteroid, which is believed to have remained in the state it was in at the beginning of the solar system, could help in the search for knowledge about the origins of life on Earth.

Learning from the troubles Hayabusa's sample-collecting device experienced on the asteroid Itokawa in late 2005, the successor probe will use explosives to make a hole on the asteroid to collect surface material.

According to the plan, Hayabusa 2 will blast off in 2014, land on the asteroid in 2018 and return to Earth in 2020.

The original Hayabusa returned to Earth in June after overcoming numerous troubles on its journey to an asteroid 300 million kilometers away, becoming the first space probe to return to Earth after traveling to a celestial body other than the moon.

In addition to the troubles with its sample-collecting device, Hayabusa suffered various malfunctions. A successor needs to be equipped with backup systems, and backup systems for the backup systems, which will send the cost of development up to 14.8 billion yen, about 2 billion yen higher than for Hayabusa.

For the development of Hayabusa 2, the education ministry at first earmarked 1.7 billion yen in its budget request for the current fiscal year.

However, this was eventually reduced to 30 million yen. In light of the financial constraints, the education ministry is worried whether it will be able to secure sufficient funds for next fiscal year.

If the successor is to reach the asteroid as planned, it needs to be launched in 2015 at the latest, meaning full-scale development must start next fiscal year. If this is not possible, the education ministry may be forced to give up on the plan, a ministry source said.