Hayabusa just hours from home

The Japanese space probe Hayabusa — which went to the asteroid Itokawa, landed, and took a sample — is almost back to Earth. Sunday, around 14:00 UT, it will land in Woomera, Australia with its tiny piece of pristine outer space tucked inside.

There’s lots to say about this, but I’ll just point you first to Universe Today for the background info, then to Emily Lakdawalla at The Planetary Society Blog, because as always Emily has tons of info, including where to go to see the recovery live on the web.

If I can roust myself out of bed and have coffee made by 08:00 my time, I’ll be watching too. Don’t forget to follow Emily on Twitter to get live updates as they happen!

Full story at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BadAstronomyBlog/~3/rHRGLxuK_wA/