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The unmanned MUSES-C is set to make a brief visit with asteroid 1998 SF36, a small space rock some 290 million kilometres away from the Earth. It will then bring back almost one gram of the asteroid's surface. The rocks gathered will be the first collected since the US Apollo lunar expedition over 30 years ago.
The launch from the Kagoshima Space Centre, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, was the fifth consecutive launch of Japan�s M-5 solid fuel launch vehicle. The Launch of MUSES-C had been delayed and its original target changed due to the failure of the fourth M-5 rocket, which failed to launch an X-ray astronomy satellite into orbit in 2000. It is expected by 2005 that four more M-5 rockets will be launched.
MUSE-C is scheduled to return to Earth in 2007, as it re-enters the atmosphere a capsule will be released containing the asteroid fragments, these will be collected by Japanese scientists for investigation. The returned samples will help answer questions about the formation of the Solar System as well as providing vital information for Near Earth Object research into the potential threat posed by asteroids.
Prior to launch world-wide interest was boosted by an Internet invitation to submit names that would be sent into space aboard the spacecraft. Over 877 000 names were collected and etched onto an aluminium-foil that was packed inside a grapefruit sized target marker that will be dropped onto the asteroid�s surface.
More info: Kyodo news
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