Space exploration: A shot in the dark?

The article investigates the impact of the Japan's failure to collect a sample from a distant asteroid on its space program. The spacecraft Hayabusa has failed to collect sample from asteroid Itokawa. The country has merged its existing space agencies such as the National Space Development Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, and National Aerospace Laboratory. To improve its space program, politicians have asked the help of the U.S. and European space-agency chiefs.