Professor Shogo Tachibana of the UTOPS gave a special lecture at the Yanagida Star Observation Center “Mantenboshi” in Ishikawa Prefecture.
The lecture, titled “The Voices of the Stones Returned from Asteroid Ryugu by Hayabusa2,” introduced research on samples returned from asteroid Ryugu. Participants of various ages attended the event and engaged in discussions during the Q&A session.
Professor Shogo Tachibana of the UTOPS delivered a four-part public lecture series at the Waseda University Extension Center titled “Ryugu Samples Returned by Hayabusa2: Exploring the Origins of the Solar System and Ourselves.”
Across the four sessions, he introduced the Hayabusa2 mission and explained how samples returned from asteroid Ryugu provide insights into the formation and early evolution of the Solar System. The lectures also discussed analytical techniques used to study extraterrestrial materials and what these studies reveal about the origins of planetary materials.
For more details, please see here.
Dr. Katharina Lodders and Dr. Bruce Fegley visited the UTOPS.
During their visit, Dr. Lodders gave a UTOPS Seminar titled “Solar System Elemental Abundances from the Solar Photosphere & CI-chondrites.”
The 11th UNISEC-Global Meeting was held at Koshiba Hall, Hongo Campus, The University of Tokyo, from November 1 to November 4, 2025.
For more details, please see here.
Professor Shogo Tachibana of the UTOPS gave two lectures as part of the Kawasaki Citizens’ Academy course “From the Universe to Volcanoes and Earthquakes in Japan.”
The first lecture, “The Universe, the Solar System, and the Origin of Ourselves,” was held on October 21, 2025, introducing scientific approaches to understanding the origins of the Universe and the Solar System. The second lecture, “The Recipe of the Solar System – The Frontier of Its Understanding,” was held on October 28, and discussed recent advances in research on asteroid Ryugu and planetary materials.
For more details, please see the Kawasaki Citizens’ Academy website:
Professor Shogo Tachibana of the UTOPS participated online in the panel discussion “When Science Meets Innovation: Planetary Science Edition” at the “esse-sense Future Forum 2025,” held in Tokyo on September 18–19, 2025.
The forum brought together researchers and industry participants to discuss connections between scientific research and innovation, featuring a wide range of sessions on science, technology, and their roles in shaping future society.
For more details, please see here.
On September 9, 2025, Kana Amano from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, France, gave a talk at the UTOPS Seminar.
In her lecture, titled “Reinterpretation of the Redox State of Hydrous Carbonaceous Chondrites: Insights from Sample Return Missions,” she presented recent studies on the redox conditions of extraterrestrial materials, including new insights obtained from samples returned from asteroid Ryugu.
On September 5, 2025, Professor Shogo Tachibana of the University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) gave a lecture on space science to sixth-grade students at Nakamura Elementary School in Nerima, Tokyo.
This marked the third consecutive year that classes have been held at the school.
For photos and more details from the event, please visit the following webpage and look for the posts titled 「宇宙の話1」 and 「宇宙の話2」:
https://cms.nerima-tky.ed.jp/swas/index.php?id=107&frame=weblog
