Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa Returns

Source: http://www.google.com/logos/hayabusa10-hp.gif

Hayabusa (はやぶさ?, literally "peregrine falcon") was an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis.

Hayabusa, formerly known as MUSES-C for Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C, was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendezvoused with Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied the asteroid's shape, spin, topography, colour, composition, density, and history. In November 2005, it landed on the asteroid and attempted to collect samples but it is not clear whether the sampling mechanism worked as intended. Nevertheless, there is a high probability that some dust was trapped in the sampling chamber during contact with the asteroid, so the chamber was sealed, and the spacecraft returned to Earth on 13 June 2010.

The spacecraft also carried a detachable minilander, MINERVA, but this failed to reach the surface. [Read more on Wikipedia]

Doodle4Google World Cup Winner

Ghana - Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_worldcup10_gh-hp.jpg

Germany - Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_worldcup10_de-hp.jpg

Australia - Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_worldcup10_au-hp.jpg

Philippines Independence Day

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The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in Cavite II el Viejo (now Kawit), Cavite, Philippines. With the public reading of the Act of the Declaration of Independence, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain, which had been recently defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

The declaration, however, was neither recognized by the United States nor Spain. The Spanish government later ceded the Philippines to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War. The United States finally recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946 in the Treaty of Manila. July 4 was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until August 4, 1964 when, upon the advice of historians and the urging of nationalists, President Diosdado Macapagal signed into law Republic Act No. 4166 designating June 12 as the country's Independence Day. June 12 had previously been observed as Flag Day and many government buildings are urged to display the Philippine Flag in their offices. [Read more on Wikipedia]

Doodle4Google World Cup Winner

United Kingdom - Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_worldcup10_uk-hp.jpg

Korea - Source: http://www.google.com/logos/d4g_worldcup10_ko-hp.jpg

Russia Day

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Valentine's Day

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Jacques Cousteau's 100th Birthday

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Jacques-Yves Cousteau (French pronunciation: [ʒak iv kusto]; commonly known in English as Jacques Cousteau; 11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française. He was also known as "le Commandant Cousteau" or "Captain Cousteau". [Read more on Wikipedia]

Jacques-Yves Cousteau in 1976