Sampling Strategy and Curation Plan of "Hayabusa" Asteroid Sample Return Mission

On the 9th May 2003 JST, Japanese spacecraft “MUSES-C” was successfully launched from Uchinoura. The spacecraft was directly inserted to interplanetary trajectory and renamed as “Hayabusa”, or “Falcon” to be the world’s first sample return spacecraft to a near Earth asteroid (NEA) [1]. The NEA (25143)Itokawa (formerly known as “1998SF36”) is its mission target. Its orbital and physical characteristics were well observed; the size is (490±100)x (250±55)x(180±50) m with about 12-hour rotation period [2]. It has a red-sloped S(IV)-type spectrum with strong 1- and 2-micron absorption bands, analogous to ordinary LL chondrites with space weathering effect [3]. Assuming its bulk density, the surface gravity level of Itokawa is in the order of 10 micro-G with its escape velocity = ~20 cm/s.