from Today's Yahoo Headline News.

Congratulations on the successful Japanese endeavor in the space.
They started to make some contribution to our humanity and science,
instead of mass-selling transistors, TVs, VCRs, and cars to us.
Again, they are leapfrogging way ahead of Korean and Chinese neighbors.
Oh man, Koreans have some catchups to do !!

It seems, in the picture, that the guys are collecting some debries (or particles?)
in the ground of the Australian Outback, on earth instead of on the comet.
Was the contents of the spacecraft collector got spilled on the Australian ground?
Depending on how you read this picture, there's a bit of comedy in it.
It can make a good gag picture in Jay Leno Show under the title of "How Japanese got the space dust".

OK, let's stop the kidding and get back to the seriousness.
The more data we have, the less we may find ourselves to know.
I hope that's not the case in this Japanese effort.
Will they be able to shed some light on the subject of who's the God ??

JAXA has affliated with NASA from the beginning and they have reached
this far, then I wonder what was the logic that Korean government has
affiliated with Russian space program instead of NASA.

I understand Korean space program has had numerous problems with
Russian space program as of this date.

Where was the friendship between Korea and USA?   KJ

아마 미국이 한국의 Rocket (or Space) program에의 협조를 거절했을지 모릅니다.
As you know, space program=military missile program.
노무현때 한국이 할수없이 소련의 Putin의 협조를 요구했었을것입니다.
Or Russia made an overture to Korea to sell their technology.
This is just my guess.

1. Old News:

"In 2004 Russia's President Putin and South Korea's President Roh Moo-hyun signed
a space technology co-operative agreement to train and fly a South Korean astronaut
aboard a Soyuz TMA spacecraft. The first two astronauts may be selected in 2005.
The South Korean astronaut might fly on a crew swap mission to the International Space
Station in  2007.
Russia's Khrunichev firm is building a launch pad for the South Korean Space Programme."

2. Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:00am EDT (Old News)

FACTBOX: South Korea's space program
South Korea launches first rocket
(Reuters) - South Korea will try again on Tuesday to launch its first space rocket after
technical glitches halted the countdown last week minutes before a scheduled lift-off.
Here is a look at South Korea's space program:

FIRST ROCKET

* The rocket planned for launch is called the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or Naro-1.
* Two-stage rocket is 33 meters (108 ft) long, 2.9 meters in diameter, weighs 140 tonnes
and can generate 170 tonnes of thrust. It was built at a cost of 502.5 billion won ($400 million),
according to the South's Yonhap news agency.
* Russia's Khrunichev space production center built the main thrusters for the first stage
and provided technical assistance.

SATELLITES

* South Korea has produced several satellites and relied on help from countries such
as Russia to launch them.
* It plans to launch a 100 kg satellite on Naro-1 that will monitor Earth's radiant energy.
* It reached a deal with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries earlier this year to launch
an Earth-imaging satellite.
* It plans to be able to eventually build satellites and launch other countries' satellites
on its rockets.

SPACE PROGRAMME PLANS

* Aims to build a rocket completely on its own by 2018.
* Build a probe that can orbit Moon by 2025.
* Develop a training program with the air force for Korean space astronauts.
* Work with the U.S. and Japanese space agencies for joint research
at the International Space Station.
* Enable South Korean astronauts to participate in advanced countries' manned space projects
through long-term international cooperation
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Christine Kim; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

As we all know, monitoring all the asteroids that potentially threaten our Mother Earth
is one of the most urgent international matters according to many astronomers and scientists.

From what I read not too long ago, there is no preparation made by the international
community in case one of them threatens to impact the earth.
Instead of doing arms races among nations as we've done since the beginning of
human civilization, it is about time for humans to have a sincere, civil debate
in regard to how we humans can continue to exist on this Mother Earth
without having it destroyed by the asteroids and/or without continuing to destroying
it with our own hands by polluting it all the time everywhere and killing ourselves.