Japan's Hayabusa2 completes Torifune flyby, captures images and thermal data
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft pulled off a close flyby of asteroid Torifune, 62 million miles from Earth, and grabbed some sharp images and thermal data on July 5, 2026.
This is all part of Japan's big plan to figure out what near-Earth asteroids are made of and how they work.
Torifune 1,475 feet, 5 hour rotation
Torifune is about 1,475 feet wide and spins around every five hours.
The new photos show cooler spots hiding in the shadows and warmer areas in the sunlight.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says more discoveries from this flyby will be shared at a later date.
Hayabusa2 bound for 1998 KY26 2031
Launched back in 2014, Hayabusa2 already brought back samples from asteroid Ryugu (which helped scientists study DNA building blocks).
Next up: it's heading for asteroid 1998 KY26, aiming to arrive in the year 2031, and it could become the smallest asteroid ever visited by a spacecraft.