Japanese Probe Touches Down on Asteroid! Asteroid Sample Retrieved!

On Nov. 26, spacecraft "Hayabusa" challenged the second trial to execute landing on and sampling from the asteroid "Itokawa". "Hayabusa" team confirmed the whole process to have been implemented, and is sure that the team succeeded in sampling materials on the surface of an asteroid for the first time in world history. Detailed data to be sent from "Hayabusa" will further verify the sampling.....

http://www.hayabusa.isas.jaxa.jp/e/index.html