Ph.D. in Space Sciences(University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom)
Other Affiliation
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, Space and Astronautical Science Program, Keio University Graduate School of System Design Management, Keio University Institute of Advanced Biosciences, Hosei University Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology School of Engineering Department of Space Systems Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies
Research funding number
00321571
J-Global ID
200901039611171139
Profile
Prof. Hajime Yano is a space scientist, professor, and project manager of JAXA/ISAS, Japan, who specializes in solar system exploration science and astrobiology, with an emphasis on sample return missions and space experiments.
As an expert in cosmic dust studies and impact physics for over a quarter of the century, his expertise extends to observational, experimental, analytical, and theoretical works of cosmic dust and space debris, as well as planetary protection and planetary defense. In particular, he has specialized in in-situ detection and collection of cosmic dust and ultimately sample return missions from their parent bodies such as Stardust, Hayabusa, and Hayabusa-2.
Hajime has contributed more than 250 refereed papers as a researcher, a co-investigator, or the principal investigator of about 20 past or ongoing space projects from Japan, Europe, and the United States including LDEF, EuReCa, HST, SFU, Nozomi, Stardust, Hayabusa, Leonid-MAC, SSSAT, IKAROS, Tanpopo, BepiColombo, Hayabusa-2, Tanpopo-2, SpaceSkin, EQUULEUS, DESTINY+, Comet Interceptor, and Gateway. Through these projects, he has accomplished a number of pioneering works that led to major scientific discoveries and “game-changing” movements in solar system exploration. Since 2007, Hajime holds and maintains a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and served as Tanpopo-2 project manager.
In the space shuttle era, Hajime established post-flight analysis procedures of micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact signatures on retrieved spacecraft surfaces. Microscopic analyses of several hundred impacts per spacecraft such as LDEF, EuReCa, and HST revealed their origins and formed a fundamental database for dust environment modeling in near-Earth space. The SFU post-flight analysis formed Japan’s first in-situ measurement database of meteoroids and debris.
In 1998-2002, Hajime and his team became the world’s first to use high-definition video imagery for astronomical research and their airborne observation onboard the Leonid MAC mission, which yielded both the faintest influx and organic and volatile spectroscopy of the Leonid meteor storm. The Leonid MAC mission resulted in a quantum leap of meteor science as a “human mission to comets without going to space, by using the atmosphere as a large dust detector”.
Hajime developed and operated a number of new instruments for cosmic dust detection and collection. The detectors include the Nozomi-MDC and DESTINY+ DDA impact-induced plasma detector/analyzer, the BepiColombo-MDM and Gateway ERSA/LVDM acoustic sensors, and the ALADDIN PVDF detectors onboard SSSAT and IKAROS as well as the CLOTH PVDF integrated within MLI thermal blankets onboard EQUULEUS. All of them are involved in hypervelocity impact calibration experiments and simulations so Hajime has developed stable shotgun techniques for microparticle impacts with two-stage light gas guns at the University of Kent in the U.K., NASA Johnson Space Center in the U.S.A., and ISAS in Japan. ALADDIN onboard the world’s first interplanetary solar sail IKAROS deployed a 0.54 m2 detection area of cosmic dust impacts; it is the largest dedicated dust detector in the history of solar system exploration and has yielded the finest structure of dust distribution ever between the Earth and Venus. Hajime has also collaborated with MIT ISN to upgrade the LIPIT dust accelerator for impact calibrations of space instrumentation. He is now the science lead of the dust impact bumper for JAXA's B1 spacecraft in the Comet Interceptor mission.
Intact capture of meteoroids was attempted by foil stuck or aerogel modules used on LDEF, EuReCa, Stardust, Tanpopo, and Tanpopo-2. Hajime was also involved in the development of an ice-melting dust collection device for Japan’s first Antarctic micrometeorite expedition in 1999. He is now advancing these experiences for future mission concepts like a sample return from Saturn's ring dust and Enceladus’ icy plume as well as impact ejecta from interstellar objects.
Also noted is Hayabusa-1&2’s asteroid surface sampling device that resulted in the world’s first asteroid sample return from Itokawa in 2010 and the second of its kind from Ryugu in 2020. This impact sampling technique that Hajime and his team developed is a robust system suitable for almost any unknown surface conditions of an airless solid body. Upon the sampling attempt on Itokawa by the Hayabusa-1, Hajime and his colleagues discovered evidence of granular migration on such a small body, which revolutionized ideas of their surface activities and created a new research field of “microgravity geology”. As future sample return missions are more inclined to organic and volatile-rich small bodies, he is also contributing in the fields of astrobiology, planetary protection, and microgravity experiments.
As an educator, Hajime has given a number of classes and lectures for planetary science, astronautical engineering, and project management in universities and institutes worldwide. He has supervised dozens of Masters and Ph.D. students as well as domestic interns and international students in the field of solar system science and exploration at ISAS.
In the international academic community, Hajime has served leading positions in organizing numerous scientific meetings in the collaboration with COSPAR, IAA, IAU, ISTS, and space agencies. He was the chair of the inaugural meeting of the International Primitive Body Exploration Working Group (IPEWG) in 2008 and the first Asian vice chair of the COSPAR Planetary Protection Panel (PPP) in 2014-2018. At present, he is the IAA Academician as well as the secretary of the IAA Space Physical Science Commission. Since 2022, he has been serving as the Chair of the COSPAR Scientific Commission-B on "Space Studies of the Earth-Moon System, Planets, and Small Bodies of the Solar System". The main belt carbonaceous (B/Cb) asteroid 1995 WF2 is named 8906 Yano.
Research Interests
Development of Space Science Instrumentations
,Space Exploration Systems
,Chemical Evolution
,International Space Exploration
,Meteoritics
,Solid Planetary Bodies
,Planetary Defense
,Planetary Protection
,Project Management
,Ocean World
,Regolith
,Hypervelocity Impacts
,弾性波
,Internal Structure
,惑星系形成
,Micro-Spacecraft
,粉体工学
,Micrometeorite
,Microgravity
,Astrbiology
,Solar System Exploration
,Space Station
,Space Debris
,Sample Return
,Cosmic Dust
,Meteors
,Asteroids
,Space Environment Science and Utilization
,Planetary Science
Committee of Space Research Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility (IDEA) Task Group - Liaison Officer (Scientific Commission B (Space Studies of the Earth-Moon System, Planets, and Small Bodies of the Solar System) )
日本航空宇宙学会, 日本航空宇宙学会賞 論文賞,Initial Achievements of hayabusa2 in Asteroid Proximity津田 雄一 佐伯 孝尚 照井 冬人 中澤 暁 吉川 真 渡邊 誠一郎 はやぶさ2プロジェクトチーム
Oct 2022
NASA Tech Brief / SAE Media Group, The 20th annual Create the Future Design Contest - Aerospace/Defense Category First Prize Winner,The Well-Dressed Spacecraft: Electronic Textile Enhanced Thermal Blanket as Debris (and Cosmic Dust) SensorJuliana Cherston Wei Yan Grace Noel Yuchen Sun David Veysset Steve Kooi Syamantak Payra Irmandy Wicaksono Hajime Yano Yoel Fink Joseph Paradiso
Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar o...
Earth, Planets and Space 75(121) Jun 2023 [Refereed]
The zodiacal light (ZL) is sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust (IPD) in the optical wavelengths. The spatial distribution of IPD in the Solar system may hold an important key to understanding the evolution of the Solar system and material tr...
Samples of the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu were collected and brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We investigated the macromolecular organic matter in Ryugu samples and found that it contains aromatic and aliphatic carbon, keton...
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected samples from the surface of the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu and brought them to Earth. The samples were expected to contain organic molecules, which record processes that occurred in the early...
平井隆之   小林正規   荒井朋子   木村宏   佐々木晶   薮田ひかる   伊藤元雄   山口亮   矢野創   LUDWIG Tomas   SCHWARZ Winfried   HOPP Jens   TRIELOFF Mario   HILLIER Jon   KHAWAJA Nozair   ECKART Lisa   POSTBERG Frank   SIMOLKA Jonas   KRUEGER Harald   HENSELOWSKY Carsten   SRAMA Ralf   
Academic research, planningKeck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, USA (Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, USA) 24 Oct 2022 - Apr 2023
Long-period comets (LPCs) and interstellar objects (ISOs) are under-explored yet fascinating targets for planetary science, planetary defense, and astrophysics. LPCs contain volatiles preserved from the formation of the solar system and sampling t...