Japan's asteroid probe in the clean roomBY STEPHEN CLARKSPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: September 2, 2014
The Hayabusa 2 asteroid probe, on track for liftoff this winter, will be shipped to its island launch base at the end of September for final preparations to start the most audacious space exploration mission ever attempted by Japan.
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The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. The probe's sample return capsule is visible here. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. The probe's sample return capsule is visible here. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. The probe's four ion thrusters are visible here. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. Two of the probe's four ion thrusters are visible here. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. The probe's sample return capsule and star trackers (with red covers) are visible here. Credit: 
The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. The probe's sample return capsule is visible here. Credit: 
A chemical rocket thrusters on the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is seen inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. Credit: 
The sample collection horn on the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is seen inside a clean room at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Sagamihara campus near Tokyo. Credit: