Hayabusa2

China, Japan release first close-up images from two asteroid flybys

In a striking coincidence of timing, space agencies from China and Japan have each released new closeup images from flybys of two different asteroids, offering fresh views of these rocky worlds within days of each other.

JAXA reveals asteroid Torifune is a rare contact binary after Hayabusa2 flyby

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft completed a high-speed flyby of asteroid Torifune on July 5, passing within roughly 800 meters of the space rock at 5 kilometers per second — about 18,000 km/h — and capturing images that revealed the asteroid to…

Japan’s Hayabusa2 completes high-speed flyby of asteroid Torifune

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft flew past the asteroid Torifune on Sunday evening, passing within close range of the roughly 450-meter-wide space rock at a relative speed of about 5 kilometers per second — approximately 18,000 kilometers per hour — in a…