OREANDA-NEWS.  January 25, 2012. NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today the beginning of system design of asteroid explorer for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) "Hayabusa 2 Project," a successor to the original "Hayabusa" asteroid explorer.

NEC's responsibilities include the system design of asteroid explorer and subsystem designs, such as the Ka-band communication subsystem (*1) and intermediate-infrared camera (*2), for the "Hayabusa" successor under the direction of JAXA.

The next "Hayabusa" is scheduled to be launched by JAXA in 2014. The new asteroid explorer will arrive at the asteroid "1999 JU3" in mid-2018, and then return to Earth by the end of 2020. The explorer's primary mission is to collect and return samples from asteroid "1999 JU3" that may help to explain the origin and evolution of the solar system, as well as to gather organic matter and hydrated minerals that can assist in studying the raw materials of living organisms.

Since the launch of the "OHSUMI" satellite in 1970, NEC has developed and produced more than 60 satellites and probes. NEC aims to capitalize on this know-how and experience, including its round-trip operations of the original "Hayabusa" from the asteroid "Itokawa," to contribute to pioneering scientific discoveries through this new asteroid explorer.