Hayabusa2 to skim Torifune from a room-temperature: ultra-close asteroid flyby on tap

Japan’s Hayabusa2, on an extended mission after Ryugu, will perform one of the closest asteroid flybys by a mission of its class, approaching Torifune to within about 1 kilometer at ~5.3 km/s on July 5 to study its shape and properties and test rapid reconnaissance for planetary defense—with a long-term aim to visit the tiny asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031, potentially landing there.