FACULTY

Many members from the University of Aizu, in particular faculty members from CAIST/ARC-Space, have been involved with Hayabusa 2, the asteroid explorer launched by JAXA in 2014. Our University's members have been conducting research in connection with this project in anticipation of Hayabusa 2's arrival at the asteroid 162173 Ryugu in 2018, to be followed by its return to Earth in 2020. Specifically teams at the University have been engaged in developing observation instruments, which include the near infrared spectrometer installed on Hayabusa 2, and in developing analytic software that will model the shape of the asteroid based on data captured by the probe's observation instruments.

JAXA Hayabusa 2 project website

*Material from JAXA's digital archives has been used for the banner images, etc.

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Japan's lunar and planetary exploration projects have already generated a lot of observation data, as seen from its Hayabusa asteroid explorer project and Kaguya lunar explorer project. To get the most out of this valuable asset, software will be required that assists with analyzing all that data, helping researchers to advance their scientific analyses across a broad front.
We are investigating technologies that enable the visualization of complex data in an easy to understand fashion, and technologies that will let researchers spot really important pieces of information from a huge mass of data.

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Onboard instruments for Lunar and Planetary Exploration missions

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It is possible that the cosmic dust floating throughout space contains either actual microorganisms, or the organic compounds that form them. Japan's Tanpopo project is an experiment in astrobiology which will see a special collector attached to the International Space Station that will capture such cosmic dust. The Tanpopo project is being conducted by a number of universities and research institutions including the University of Aizu, and in particular faculty members and student advisees from our CAIST/ARC-Space and Image Processing Course are taking part, along with Student Cooperative Class Project (SCCP) participants. The team is developing software that will pick out cosmic dust particles using image processing based on micrographs from the collector made up of an ultra-low density materials called Silica aerogel. The team is also developing a device that will cut off the collectors that contain the cosmic dust.
For more on the Tanpopo Project (external link): http://logos.ls.toyaku.ac.jp/~lcb-7/tanpopo/introduction.html

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This has been started as an educational project supported by Coordination Funds for Promoting AeroSpace Utilizaiton MEXT (2017-19).
O02-2 Factories for Start-Up Ventures no.2 Space Utilization of Remote Sensing Data, CFS Creative Factory Seminar, O03 SCCP Lunar and Planetary Data Analysis & Tanpopo on ISS, and delivery lectures for junior/senior highschool students.
https://arcspace.jp
https://www.facebook.com/SpaceSoftUoA/

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So that we may learn more about the formation and the future evolution of our solar system, it is extremely important to analyze the remote sensing data captured by lunar and planetary explorers and earth observation satellites. Deploying software technology for analyzing data researched and accumulated by the University, our teams are making new discoveries in the field of earth planetary science and conducting further research into disaster prevention and the environment.

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Student Cooperative Class Project: Lunar and Planetary Data Analysis

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