Hayabusa2 spacecraft suffers failure of last functional ion engine

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has reported a failure in the last functional ion engine of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The malfunction, which occurred in mid-August, affects the engine's ion source while its neutralizer remains operational.

To sustain the mission, JAXA plans to employ a “cross-operation” technique. This involves combining the functional ion source from one engine with the neutralizer of another. This non-standard method was previously used to successfully return the original Hayabusa spacecraft to Earth.

Hayabusa2, launched in December 2014, has exceeded its intended design life. After successfully delivering samples from the asteroid Ryugu in 2020, the probe is currently on an extended mission. JAXA is evaluating whether the spacecraft can still reach its next target, the asteroid 1998 KY26, by its scheduled arrival in 2031.