The Tachibana Laboratory at UTOPS has signed a joint research agreement with ALE Co., Ltd. (https://star-ale.com/), a company whose mission is to “make space closer for all of us together”, for an exploration mission to the asteroid “99942 Apophis”.

[Comments]
Lena Okajima, Founder and CEO, ALE Co., Ltd.:
“We are very pleased that our technology will be applied to an important effort in space science research. Through this joint research, we aim to help reveal the unknown aspects of space and contribute to a sustainable future for human society through the utilization of space resources. ALE will continue to collaborate with research institutions and companies, including the University of Tokyo, and pursue innovative challenges for the advancement of space science.”

Shogo Tachibana, Professor, University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS), Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo:
“Recent missions such as Hayabusa2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx have shown that asteroid surfaces are highly diverse. This method will enable us to investigate the properties of surface materials at multiple locations on an asteroid. It is expected to contribute significantly to solar system science, planetary defense, and the utilization of space resources. The approach may also be applied to various future exploration missions, and I look forward to the progress of this joint research.”

For more details, please see here.