JAXA Engineers Plan Hybrid Engine Repair to Save Hayabusa2’s Asteroid Mission
Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe lost its final working ion engine in August 2026, jeopardizing its extended mission to asteroid 1998 KY26. JAXA engineers plan to rewire the spacecraft by combining the functional neutralizer from Engine B with the healthy ion source from Engine D, a technique previously used to save the original Hayabusa mission. The repair attempt is scheduled for late October 2026.
Key points
- Hayabusa2’s last operational ion engine, Engine B, failed in mid-August 2026, leaving the spacecraft without propulsion for its extended mission.
- The probe is currently on an extended journey to asteroid 1998 KY26, a small near-Earth object expected to arrive in 2031.
- JAXA plans to create a hybrid engine by pairing the surviving neutralizer of Engine B with the functional ion source of Engine D.
- This repair strategy mirrors a successful fix used on the original Hayabusa probe, which returned samples from asteroid Itokawa in 2010.
- The repair attempt is scheduled for late October 2026, though success does not guarantee the spacecraft will reach its target due to overall deterioration.
Background
Hayabusa2 launched in December 2014 and successfully returned samples from asteroid Ryugu to Earth in December 2020. Following this success, JAXA extended the mission to target asteroid 1998 KY26, which contains an estimated million gallons of water and rotates rapidly. The current engine failure is the latest in a series of component degradations, with Engines A, C, and D having already malfunctioned or lost critical parts during the mission.
Why it matters
The potential success of this hybrid engine repair demonstrates the resilience of long-duration space missions and the value of engineering redundancy. If successful, it could allow Hayabusa2 to reach its second target, providing valuable data on a water-rich asteroid. The outcome also highlights the challenges of operating spacecraft far beyond their original design life, influencing future mission planning and engineering standards for deep-space exploration.
What to watch
JAXA engineers will attempt to restart the hybrid engine in late October 2026. If the repair is successful, the agency will assess whether the spacecraft has sufficient capability to reach asteroid 1998 KY26 by 2031. If the repair fails or the spacecraft is too degraded, the extended mission may be terminated.
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