This is Nozomi, one of Hayabusa's fellow satellites. I parented the strip that has the smaller version of this picture and also introduces this character.
Steak said: What exactly is the inspiration for this? Being low on fuel strikes me as a bad thing...
A malfunctioning valve during the Earth swingby resulted in a loss of fuel and left Nozomi with insufficient acceleration to reach its planned trajectory. Two course correction used more propellant than planned, leaving the spacecraft short of fuel. By the accident, the space craft had to choose a very long course including another two gravitational assists.