⏰ when
When was the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid?
SpaceAsteroids
Quick Answer
Hayabusa landed on asteroid Itokawa in 2005. It became the first spacecraft to touch down on an asteroid and later return samples to Earth.
The Full Story
Japan’s Hayabusa mission made history by briefly landing on asteroid 25143 Itokawa in 2005. The spacecraft was the first to touch down on an asteroid, and it eventually returned tiny samples to Earth in 2010. Those samples provided important clues about the composition and history of small rocky bodies in the Solar System. The mission was technically difficult and showed that sample-return missions to asteroids were possible.
Key Facts
1.Landing: 2005
2.Asteroid: 25143 Itokawa
3.Samples returned: 2010
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The first asteroid landing was a tiny hop onto a rock millions of kilometers away."