The University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) contributed to the special exhibition “Asteroid Itokawa and Ryugu Sample Exhibition in Akashi,” held from January 27 to February 18, 2024 in the Astronomy Gallery on the 3rd floor of the Akashi Municipal Planetarium.

The exhibition displayed samples from asteroid Itokawa, returned to Earth by the Hayabusa spacecraft in June 2010, and samples from asteroid Ryugu, returned by Hayabusa2 in December 2020.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Professor Shogo Tachibana gave a related public lecture titled “What the Stones from Asteroid Ryugu Have Begun to Tell Us” on January 28, 2024, at the planetarium dome on the 2nd floor of the museum.

For more details, please see here.

On January 23, 2024, Professor Shogo Tachibana of the University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) gave a special lecture to fifth-grade students at Nakamura Elementary School in Nerima, Tokyo.

During the visit, he spoke about asteroid Ryugu and the Hayabusa2 mission, and taught classes for each group of students from the first through the fourth class periods, interacting with the energetic students throughout the day.

For photos and more details from the event, please visit the following webpage and look for the posts titled 「宇宙のお話１」 and 「宇宙のお話２」:
https://cms.nerima-tky.ed.jp/weblog/index.php?id=107&type=7&search_word=%B1%A7%C3%E8%A4%CE%A4%AA%CF%C3&search_option=0

On February 23, 2024, a public lecture by Professor Shogo Tachibana of the University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) was held at the Hibiki Hall of Yumetarou Plaza (Taketoyo Community Arts Center) in Taketoyo, Aichi Prefecture.

The lecture, titled “Bringing Back Samples from Small Bodies: Ryugu, Bennu, and Beyond,” introduced recent progress in sample return missions from asteroids.

For more details, please see here.

On August 2, 2024, students from Komatsu High School (Ishikawa Prefecture) visited UTOPS.

During their visit, they attended a mock lecture on the Hayabusa2 mission and on the analysis of rocks returned from asteroid Ryugu, followed by a tour of the laboratories.

On October 19, 2024, UTOPS hosted an outreach event titled “Let’s Make a Ryugu Bath Bomb!” on the Hongo Campus, inviting elementary and junior high school students and their parents.

During the event, participants learned about asteroid Ryugu and the Hayabusa2 mission, and then worked together to create bath bombs inspired by Ryugu.

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

The University of Tokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) contributed to the special exhibition “Asteroid Sample Return Missions: From ‘Hayabusa’ and ‘Hayabusa2’, and onto ‘MMX’,” held from December 17, 2024 to January 13, 2025 in the permanent exhibition hall on the 2nd floor of the Global Gallery at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.

The exhibition featured samples from asteroid Itokawa and asteroid Ryugu, returned to Earth by JAXA’s Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions, together with samples from asteroid Bennu returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. This marked the first time that samples from three asteroids were simultaneously displayed to the public.

For more details, please see here.

On August 4, 2025, sixteen students from Komatsu High School (Ishikawa Prefecture) visited UTOPS.
During their visit, they attended a mock lecture on unsolved problems in the Solar System and on the analysis of samples returned from asteroid Ryugu, followed by a tour of the laboratories.