Hayabusa approached within 70 meters of Itokawa

On Nov. 9, the Hayabusa moved within 70 meters of the Itokawa during a descending test that aimed to verify the guidance and navigation functions.
The cause of an anomaly that led to the cancellation of the rehearsal scheduled on Nov. 4 was clarified, thus we will carry out its landing at the "MUSES Sea" and sampling under the following schedule.
Nov. 12: Rescheduled rehearsal for descending (Release the probing robot "Minerva")
Nov. 19: First sampling (Release the target marker with signatures)
Nov. 25: Second sampling

November 10, 2005