Japan's Hayabusa2 encounters technical glitch en route to another asteroid: What’s next?
Produced by Abhinav Yadav
Produced by Abhinav Yadav
Hayabusa2 spacecraft has gone into protective safe mode after detecting an abnormality during its journey through space. The probe had been on a mission to reach another asteroid, after successfully returning Ryugu samples to Earth in 2020.
On March 21, the spacecraft detected a glitch and automatically switched to safe mode, JAXA confirmed in an April 2 update. Despite the issue, communication with Earth remains stable, and engineers are now assessing the problem and its possible effects on future plans.
Hayabusa2 launched in December 2014 and has been in space for over 10 years. It studied asteroid Ryugu for 18 months and returned valuable samples to Earth, a major achievement in space exploration.
The probe is now en route to asteroid 1998 KY26, a tiny, spinning asteroid. It’s expected to reach by 2031. The latest glitch may affect mission planning, but JAXA is yet to release an update on the spacecraft.
While Hayabusa2’s status is being checked, Japan is preparing for its next big mission. In 2026, JAXA aims to launch the MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of Mars' moons.
Hayabusa2 gave us rare samples from the early solar system, helping scientists understand how planets and life may have formed. Its extended mission could offer more insights from yet another asteroid, if all goes well.
For now, Hayabusa2 is on standby mode. However, with stable communication and an experienced team behind it, there’s hope it will return to normal operations soon.