In conjunction with the “Double Sample Exhibition of Asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu,” held from May 10 to May 18at the Yamanashi Prefectural Science Center, Professor Shogo Tachibana of the University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) delivered a public lecture.
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]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.
On February 22 (Sat.) and 23 (Sun.), 2025, we held an astronomy training for students from Ena High School and Tajimi-Kita High School in Gifu Prefecture. They estimated the distance to galaxies from photographs of galaxies and used the recession speeds of these galaxies to determine the age of the universe.
On January 25 (Sat.) and 26 (Sun.), 2025, we held an astronomy training for students from Suwa-Seiryo High School and Matsusho-Gakuen High School and Matsumoto-Agatagaoka High School in Nagano Prefecture. They estimated the distance to galaxies from photographs of galaxies and used the recession speeds of these galaxies to determine the age of the universe.
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of planetariums, samples from asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu, brought back by the Japanese asteroid probes Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, are simultaneously exhibited in a nationwide tour. The relay tour will continue until May 2025 through the cooperation of member museums of the Japan Planetarium Association.
Organizers: Planetarium 100th Anniversary Commemorative Project Executive Committee, Astromaterials Science Research Group (ASRG ISAS/JAXA)
Co-organizers: UTokyo Organization for Planetary Space Science (UTOPS), Nagoya City Science Museum
For details, please refer to the following URL.
UTokyo Organization for Space and Planetary Science (UTOPS) cooperated with the exhibition “Sample Return from Asteroids” held from December 17, 2024 (Tue) to January 13, 2025 (Mon) in the permanent exhibition room on the 2nd floor of the Earth Hall, National Museum of Nature and Science.
Samples from the asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu, brought back to Earth by JAXA’s asteroid explorers Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, and sample from the asteroid Bennu, brought back to Earth by NASA’s asteroid explorer OSIRIS-REx, were displayed side by side. The samples of the three asteroids were exhibited to the public simultaneously for the first time in the world.
For details, please refer to the following URL.
Prof. Shogo Tachibana gave an invited talk on Ryugu and Bennu at the symposium “Life in Universe: Diversity in the building blocks, environments, and biological functions” at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan from November 26 (Wed.) to 29 (Fri.), 2024.
For details, please refer to the following URL.
https://pub.confit.atlas.jp/ja/event/mbsj2024/session/2R901-06
On November 9, 2024, Professor Shogo Tachibana of the University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) gave a talk on space science to sixth-grade students at Nakamura Elementary School in Nerima, Tokyo.
During the session, he revisited and expanded on topics previously discussed with the students in their fifth-grade classes, including asteroid Ryugu and the Hayabusa2 mission. He also answered a number of questions about space and Earth that had been submitted by the students in advance.
For photos and more details from the event, please see the following page:
https://cms.nerima-tky.ed.jp/swas/index.php?id=107&frame=weblog&type=1&column_id=358031&category_id=4846
