Space

Japan Conducts Near-Earth Asteroid Flyby

Is this humanity's best hope for survival, should more offensive technology be tested or is this all mostly hype?

Published JUL 6

Japan Conducts Near-Earth Asteroid Flyby

Story

Above: A re-entry capsule from Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft is seen over Australia on Dec. 6, 2020. Image credit: Morgan Sette/Getty Images

The Facts

The Japanese space agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 probe completed a flyby of asteroid Torifune on Sunday, passing within 800 meters (2,625 feet) of the space rock while traveling at more than 18,000 kilometers per hour. If confirmed, it would be one of the closest high-speed passes of a near-Earth asteroid.
Space
CTV News
Images released by JAXA on Monday showed Torifune resembling a snowman, with what appeared to be two round objects joined together. JAXA scientist Yuya Mimasu said the asteroid "personally looked like a snowman."
NDTV
CTV News
The flyby was designed to test whether scientists could precisely control a probe's trajectory at high speed — a key capability for any future mission aimed at deflecting an asteroid away from Earth. The mission was not prompted by any known asteroid threat.
NHK
PHYS
Hayabusa2 recorded surface data from Torifune using an optical camera and a mid-infrared camera, which measures surface temperature, thermal inertia and roughness. The infrared imagery showed cooler temperatures in shadowed regions and warmer readings where the surface faced the sun.
South China Morning Post
Space
The Torifune flyby follows NASA's 2022 Double Asteroid Redirection Test, in which a spacecraft was deliberately crashed into the 160-meter-wide asteroid Dimorphos, successfully altering its orbit. European Space Agency scientist Patrick Michel said each new asteroid image improves planetary defense preparedness.
South China Morning Post
PHYS
Launched in December 2014, Hayabusa2 previously collected samples from asteroid Ryugu and returned them to Earth in 2020. The probe is next expected to reach asteroid 1998 KY26 — just 11 meters across — in 2031, where it will attempt to orbit and land on the surface.
NDTV
Space

Sources Split

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CRIT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Hayabusa2's record-breaking flyby of Torifune proves that precise asteroid deflection is within reach — humanity now has real tools to protect Earth. Getting a spacecraft within 800 meters of a fast-moving space rock at 18,000 kilometers per hour is a monumental technical achievement that directly advances planetary defense. Every close-up image and surface data point collected makes future deflection missions more effective and better targeted.

NHK

PHYS

Narrative B

Flybys alone won't cut it when asteroids like Apophis and Bennu keep making close passes with Earth, and deflection still requires years of advance warning that may never come. A fragmentation-based system that can neutralize threats days or even hours out is far more practical than precision maneuvering that demands perfect timing. Planetary defense needs serious funding and a last-line defense strategy, not just impressive photo ops.

The Spacereview

Scientific American

Cynical narrative

Hayabusa2's flybys are being sold as civilization-saving breakthroughs when they're mostly long, expensive science expeditions wrapped in planetary-defense marketing. After years of speculation, we may arrive in 2031 only to learn 1998 KY26 is just another rock — or even old space junk. While genuine planet protection is undoubtedly a good thing, these hyped up missions often race far ahead of what they actually deliver.