The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →JAXA has a workaround for Hayabusa2’s August 2026 ion-engine malfunction: operate the ion source from engine D together with the neutralizer from engine B. The agency says tests showed this mixed configuration could operate as an ion engine, allowing trajectory control to continue. It is not a confirmed permanent repair, and JAXA has not guaranteed that the spacecraft will complete its remaining journey.
What failed on Hayabusa2?
The problem was in Hayabusa2’s ion-engine system, not a conventional chemical rocket motor. Engine B was the only engine then being used for trajectory control. After B began operating normally for a post-flyby trajectory-control burn on July 9, repeated electrical discharges caused a malfunction in mid-August 2026. JAXA tried the recovery approach used after similar events in 2021 and 2025: repeat discharge operations. After about a week, the team identified a different fault—the power supply could no longer provide current to B’s ion source—and abandoned that attempt. JAXA’s September 28, 2026 update describes the failure and workaround.
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The trajectory control is needed for a planned Earth swingby in December 2027, on the route to the extended mission’s planned arrival at asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031. JAXA’s update and ISAS-JAXA’s mission overview give those milestones.
How does the cross-operation workaround work?
An ion engine needs an ion source to expel ions and a neutralizer to expel electrons. Normally, those components work together as a pair within one engine unit. Cross-operation pairs components from different units instead: JAXA says its combination tests found that Hayabusa2 could operate using engine D’s ion source and engine B’s neutralizer.
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That is component-sharing, not a complete replacement of B by D or a report that B has been repaired. The failed power-supply function affects current to B’s ion source; JAXA’s reported workable combination retains B’s neutralizer. The agency says the team would use cross-operation for continued trajectory control while monitoring the engine system’s condition. It has not published a guaranteed operating duration, quantified thrust, or confirmation that all remaining maneuvers are secured in the September update.
Why didn’t the earlier recovery attempt work this time?
| Approach | What it addresses | What JAXA reported |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated discharge operations | Electrical-discharge malfunctions of the kind seen before | Similar events in 2021 and 2025 cleared after repeated discharge operations. In August 2026, the attempt lasted about a week; it was stopped after a power-supply fault affecting B’s ion source was identified. JAXA, September 28, 2026. |
| Cross-operation | Continued ion-engine operation using components that still work across separate units | Tests showed a configuration using D’s ion source and B’s neutralizer could operate as an ion engine. JAXA planned to use it for trajectory control while checking engine condition. JAXA, September 28, 2026. |
| Increased xenon flow | Management of engine degradation, not repair of the later power-supply fault | In a June 10, 2026 update, JAXA’s ion-engine lead Ryudo Tsukizaki said increased xenon flow was being used to prevent degradation from progressing. This was reported before the August fault. JAXA, June 10, 2026. |
What condition were the engines in before the fault?
In its June 10, 2026 update, JAXA reported that engines A, C, and D had shown earlier-than-expected increases in neutralizer voltage, an indicator of performance degradation, leaving B as the engine then being operated. B had accumulated 8,143 operating hours as of June 9, 2026. JAXA also reported that the ion-engine system had achieved a 2 km/s velocity increase, 155% of the nominal mission ΔV quota, and about 20% more accumulated impulse than the first Hayabusa mission. These are agency-reported figures for the stated dates, not independent recalculations. JAXA’s June update.
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The xenon-flow measure addressed the earlier degradation picture; it should not be mistaken for the cross-operation workaround or a fix for the failed current supply to B’s ion source.
Can Hayabusa2 still reach its next asteroid?
JAXA’s September 28 update establishes that a cross-operation configuration could operate and that the team intended to continue trajectory control with it. It does not establish how long the configuration will remain usable, quantify its thrust, or guarantee completion of the December 2027 Earth swingby and 2031 arrival at 1998 KY26. The accurate answer is that the workaround gives the spacecraft a way to continue operating its ion engine, while mission completion remains unconfirmed by that update.
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Why the fix matters beyond Hayabusa2
JAXA says the spacecraft’s long-duration ion-engine operation, degradation analysis, and ground replication tests have informed countermeasure studies. The agency says findings are being passed to subsequent spacecraft, including the ion-engine design for DESTINY+, whose launch is planned for fiscal 2028. That context makes the experience valuable for future missions, but JAXA has not said that DESTINY+ will use this specific cross-operation configuration. JAXA’s June 2026 update.
Hayabusa2 launched in December 2014, reached asteroid Ryugu in June 2018, collected samples during two touchdowns in 2019, and returned its capsule to Earth on December 6, 2020. The spacecraft then continued on an extended mission. ISAS-JAXA’s overview describes the Torifune flyby in 2026 and the later Earth swingbys and asteroid rendezvous.
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