asteroid 25143 Itokawa (dimensions 540 meters by 270 meters by 210 meters) to Earth for further analysis. named The Hayabusa, formerly known as MUSES-C for Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C, was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendezvoused with Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied the asteroid's