NEC Corp on Monday expressed satisfaction with Japanese space probe Hayabusa’s return to Earth the previous day after a seven-year voyage. ‘‘It is our great pleasure that we as a manufacturer have been able to contribute to the project,’’ the electronics maker said in a statement.

The ion engine developed by NEC made the long-distance trip possible, allowing the space probe to land on a planet other than the moon for the first time ever. After leaving Earth in May 2003, the spacecraft traveled some 6 billion kilometers, surviving a series of technological problems that often threatened its return and put it three years behind schedule.