Japanese probe to try landing on asteroid again

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

TOKYO -- A Japanese space probe is heading back toward an asteroid for a second landing attempt after failing to touch down over the weekend, officials said Monday. Communications between the Hayabusa probe and Japan's space agency, JAXA, have returned to normal after the vessel inexplicably stopped short of the asteroid and lost contact with ground control Sunday, the officials said. The probe is on a mission to land briefly on the asteroid Itokawa, which is about 2,300 feet long and 1,000 feet wide and located almost 180 million miles from Earth.

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