MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- A group of astronomers from NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other organizations are flying to the other side of the world for a front row seat and a rare opportunity to study a spacecraft's targeted fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere.

A Douglas DC-8 airborne laboratory departed yesterday evening from NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Palmdale, Calif., carrying nearly 30 scientists and their instruments to Melbourne, Australia to make final preparations for the highly-anticipated return of JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft. This luminous re-entry will mark the end of the spacecraft's seven-year journey to bring a sample of asteroid Itokawa back to Earth.

Read more of the full NASA article here