Hayabusa2’s 2031 Landing Plan Faces an Unexpected Asteroid Nightmare

On December 6, 2020, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped off pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu in the Australian outback, becoming the world’s second asteroid sample return mission, after the first Hayabusa mission returned dusty samples from asteroid Itokawa in 2010. But Hayabusa2 still has more to offer.

That same spacecraft is currently on its way to another distant space rock, aiming to snag more samples to help scientists compile the solar system’s origin story. Recent observations of the asteroid, however, reveal that Hayabusa2 might not be able to touch down on its new target.

Asteroid 1998 KY26 is a small, lumpy near-Earth object thought to contain about a million gallons of water. It rotates so quickly that a day on the rock ends almost as soon as it begins, according to NASA