ASRG Receives JAXA President’s Award 2025!

The Astromaterials Science Research Group (ASRG) has been awarded the JAXA President’s Award (Frontier Category) in recognition of its outstanding contributions to “the world’s first acceptance of asteroid return samples and the sustained creation of scientific outcomes.”

This award honors ASRG’s pioneering role in establishing a comprehensive framework for the curation of returned extraterrestrial materials, including the reception, preservation, initial description, cataloguing, and distribution of asteroid samples. The group’s work has enabled long-term, stable access to these rare materials by the international scientific community, leading to a wide range of high-impact scientific outcomes.

Following the return of samples from the Hayabusa mission in 2010, ASRG developed innovative handling techniques for extremely small particles (approximately 0.1 mm in size), including electrostatic control and precision manipulation. More than 1,100 particles were initially described and catalogued, and over 200 particles have since been allocated to researchers, supporting numerous scientific studies.

Building on this foundation, ASRG led the curation of samples returned by Hayabusa2 in 2020, cataloguing the majority of the approximately 5.4 g of Ryugu material. Through multiple international Announcements of Opportunity, a significant fraction of the samples has been distributed to researchers worldwide, contributing to a rapidly growing body of scientific outcomes.

In recent years, ASRG has also expanded its activities through international collaboration. In 2024, the group received a portion of the asteroid Bennu samples returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and carried out initial description and cataloguing at a level equivalent to that used for Hayabusa2 samples. The first JAXA-led international call for research using Bennu samples has since been conducted.

These achievements demonstrate ASRG’s role as a central hub for asteroid sample curation and international cooperation. Importantly, the group’s efforts are not limited to past missions, but also contribute to preparations for future sample return missions, including MMX (Martian Moons eXploration), Artemis-era lunar sample returns, and next-generation sample return missions. ASRG will continue to advance its curation capabilities to maximize the scientific value of returned extraterrestrial materials and to support sustained, high-impact planetary science in close collaboration with the global research community.