The Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA," which was launched by the M-V Launch Vehicle No.5 from the Uchinoura Space Center in May 2003, attempted to land (touch down) on an asteroid "Itokawa" in Nov. 2005. Due to some trebles including reaction wheel malfunction and fuel leakage, JAXA lost sight of the HAYABUSA in space at one point. However, the explorer overcame various difficulties and shifted its orbit to return to the Earth in April 2007. In June 2010, the HAYABUSA reentered the Earth's atmosphere to bring back its capsule to the Earth which may carry some samples acquired from Itokawa.
