TOKYO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe, which has been operating far beyond its design life, has suffered a malfunction in its last working ion engine, local media reported Friday.
According to Kyodo News, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aims to keep the probe operating by combining the remaining functional components of its ion engines.
Hayabusa2 is equipped with four ion engines. Three had previously malfunctioned, leaving only one operational. The remaining engine B also failed in mid-August. Although JAXA attempted to restore it, the engine could not be restarted, the report said, citing JAXA sources.
Each of the probe's four ion engines normally uses its own ion source to eject ions and a neutralizer to emit electrons, with both components needed for an engine to operate.
According to Jiji Press, a detailed examination by JAXA found that the ion source of engine B has failed while its neutralizer still works. In the previously malfunctioning engines C and D, however, the problem lies in the neutralizers, and their ion sources still function normally.
JAXA therefore plans to use a "cross operation" method, switching the probe's circuitry to pair engine B's neutralizer with engine D's ion source so that the probe can continue its mission.
The same technique was used on the original Hayabusa probe and enabled it to return to Earth despite engine problems.
Nearly 12 years after its December 2014 launch, Hayabusa2 has greatly exceeded its design life, and many of its parts and systems have deteriorated or malfunctioned.
Whether the method will enable the probe to reach its new asteroid target, 1998 KY26, in 2031 remains unclear. ■
