chattr +a -V

[In November] Hayabusa will gingerly manoeuvre itself to within a few metres (yards) of Itokawa and then fire a projectile weighing about five grammes (1/5th of an ounce) into the surface at a speed of 300 metres (325 feet) per second, or around 1,800 kms (1,125 miles) an hour.

If the arithmetic is right and luck is on Hayabusa's side, material will be kicked out of the asteroid and some of it will shoot up a slender funnel.

The pellets are scheduled to be shot at three different sites in the asteroid, with each tiny sample being carefully stowed away onboard.

The spacecraft will also deploy a little robot, about the size of a large beer can, called Minerva, which for a couple of days will "hop" around the asteroid's surface, taking pictures and measuring the temperature.

Then it will be time to head for home. In June 2007, Hayabusa's precious payload, of just 100 milligrammes, should land in the Australian Outback.