Hayabusa2 sample-return mission and its scientific significance in primitive small-body exploration

Hayabusa2 is the sample return mission to the near-Earth C-type asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3 (2014-2020). Samples from C-type asteroids, which are abundantly present in the asteroid belt and of which reflectance spectra resemble those of carbonaceous chondrites, may well preserve the information covering the entire history of the Solar System; the epoch prior to the birth of the Sun, planetesimals and planet formation including a behavior of volatiles to terrestrial planets. Moreover, asteroidal surface samples record current surface geological processes and the dynamical evolution of small bodies in the Solar System, which are not recorded in meteoritic samples. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft will launch off in 2014, and arrive at the asteroid 1999 JU3 in mid-2018. Investigations by several remote sensing techniques and sample collections at three different locations will be carried out during its 18-month stay. The spacecraft will return to Earth with asteroidal samples in December 2020. In this article, we describe the outline and cosmochemical rationales of the Hayabusa2 mission with its significance in primitive small body exploration missions