Scientists flying aboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory captured this image of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa spacecraft June 13, 2010 as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and began breaking up over the Woomera Test Range in southern Australia.
ACD10-0109-006
Mission: Hayabusa Re-entry Imaging
Scientists flying aboard NASA’s DC-8 airborne laboratory captured this image of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa spacecraft June 13, 2010 as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and began breaking up over the Woomera Test Range in southern Australia. The small object below and ahead of the main portion of the spacecraft was the sample return capsule, which was recovered intact after parachuting to a safe landing. JAXA scientists hope to recover samples of the asteroid Itokawa that Hayabusa visited in 2005 from the return container to help them understand the asteroid’s composition.June 13, 2010
NASA Ames / Jesse Carpenter / Greg Merkes