Hayabusa sample capsule
Hayabusa sample capsule
Model of the capsule used to bring samples of asteroid Itokawa to Earth with the first Hayabusa mission on 14 June 2010. The almost identical sample capsule of Hayabusa2, which is expected to arrive in Australia on Saturday, is 40 centimetres high and weighs 16 kilograms. After landing, the capsule will be salvaged in this condition, brought to Japan and only opened once in the laboratory under vacuum conditions.
