Hayabusa2 is a sample-return mission to asteroid Ryugu. The mission investigated in the proximity of asteroid Ryugu from June 2018 until November 2019. In December 2020, the spacecraft successfully brought the samples back to Earth. After the sample capsule release, it has continued to operate as the "Hayabusa2 Extended Mission (Hayabusa2#)". On 5 July 2026, the spacecraft will conduct a flyby observation during a close pass to asteroid Torifune. The final goal of the Extended Mission is to rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031 and conduct exploration activities.

Hayabusa2 PROJECT WEB SITE >

At JLPEDA, we are developing various types of software and also providing other support as follows. We are also conducting scientific research on Ryugu as members of the Hayabusa2 science team.

Image search system development

We are developing a web-based search system that enables researchers to locate images suited to their purposes from among large volumes of scientific observation images taken by optical navigation cameras (ONCs) .

Developing a false coloration tool for images

We are developing a tool that combines images from multiple ONC bands to generate false coloration images for browsing. These false coloration images are useful for researchers to understand the characteristics of the data before analyzing it in detail.

Creating virtual Ryugu models for operation trainings

For landing spot selection practice conducted before arrival at Ryugu, we created a 3D simulated asteroid called Ryugoid and performed a simulation of observation data （Miura et al., 2017）. This simulation was able to emulate visible and infrared light through various filters, which is not possible with normal CG models. As another type of practice, we also repeatedly simulated descending close to the surface of the asteroid conducting real-time integrated operations. In addition, we have created navigation image simulation software for this training.

• - ISAS website: The Forefront of Space Science; Data & Reality in Space Science
• - The soon-to-arrive Hayabusa2: 1st time prologue/simulating operations in the vicinity of Ryugu - RIO Training

References

• - MIURA Akira et al. (2017). Creating virtual Ryugu data for training operations in choosing Hayabusa2 landing sites, Proceedings from the fall meeting 2017, The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences, H15, Sep. 27-29, 2017.