Question 1

True or false: The Hayabusa2 mission returned samples from a comet, not an asteroid.

Accepted Answer

False. Hayabusa2 visited the C-type asteroid Ryugu, not a comet. It returned surface and subsurface samples from this near-Earth asteroid.

Question 2

True or false: Hayabusa2 fired a copper impactor into Ryugu to create an artificial crater and collect subsurface material.

Accepted Answer

True. The Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) shot a 2-kg copper projectile at Ryugu, creating a ~10-meter crater for fresh subsurface sampling.

Question 3

True or false: Hayabusa2 used ion engines for most of its interplanetary travel, a technology pioneered by the original Hayabusa.

Accepted Answer

True. Both Hayabusa missions used microwave-discharge ion thrusters, which provided efficient, low-thrust propulsion for the long journey.

Question 4

True or false: The Hayabusa2 spacecraft is still operational and now on an extended mission to visit a second asteroid.

Accepted Answer

False. Hayabusa2 finished its main mission and is on an extended mission, but it is targeting the small asteroid 1998 KY26, not a second large asteroid.

Question 5

True or false: Hayabusa2's sample return capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean, just like Apollo missions.

Accepted Answer

False. The capsule landed in the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia, not in the ocean, on December 6, 2020.

Question 6

True or false: Hayabusa2 carried four tiny rovers that explored Ryugu's surface, each weighing less than a smartphone.

Accepted Answer

True. The MINERVA-II1 rovers (Rover-1A and 1B) and later Rover-2 each weighed about 1 kg and hopped using internal motors.

Question 7

True or false: Hayabusa2 carried a mini-fridge-sized lander named MASCOT that hopped across Ryugu using a rotating mass.

Accepted Answer

True. MASCOT was a box-shaped lander from DLR/CNES that moved by spinning an internal mass, not wheels, to hop across the asteroid's surface.

Question 8

True or false: Hayabusa2 was the first mission ever to return samples from a carbon-rich asteroid.

Accepted Answer

False. Hayabusa2 was the first to return samples from a C-type asteroid, but NASA's Stardust mission returned comet dust earlier. Also, Hayabusa2 was second overall after Hayabusa1.

Hayabusa 2 Trivia Questions