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Hayabusa: The Falcon Flies “If you build a high tower and climb it, you will see a new horizon,” said Jun’ichiro Kawaguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa mission to asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa (which means “falcon” in Japanese) has been beset with troubles in its mission to the near-Earth asteroid, but it has still returned remarkable images and has set the stage for future sample return missions. Hayabusa captured this image of Itokawa on October 22, 2005. ISAS / JAXA