The University of Aizu and ARC-Space(※1), the Research Center for Advanced Information Science and Technology, as well as the laboratories and individuals involved were presented with a letter of appreciation from JAXA(※2) for their cooperation with the Hayabusa2 project.

Hayabusa2 completed its six-year space journey between the asteroid Ryuguu and the Earth, and returned the capsule containing the sample to the Earth in December 2020.
This certificate of appreciation was presented to the faculty, students and their organizations as a token of appreciation for the successful completion of this mission.

Faculty members and students belonging to the Space Information Science Research Center worked on the development and operation of the near-infrared spectrometer onboard Hayabusa2, asteroid shape modeling, development and operation of the thermal camera calibration software, cooperation in the development of the landing rover, and overall observation data analysis.
Faculty and students from the University of Aizu are participating across all instruments, including the lander, and some of the results are available in the news below.

Comment by Professor Hirohide Demura, Director of the Aizu Research Center for Space Informatics (ARC-Space)
It's a great honor.
The University of Aizu faculty members and their supervising students participated in the first Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, and all of them were able to publish their results as first authors or co-authors of world class papers.
I am deeply moved by the results of the "top-down education policy" that motivates students by showing them the world's leading research sites.
The return of the capsule is not the end of the mission. There are also lunar and Martian missions that have already started running, including the Hayabusa2 extended mission.
The University of Aizu faculty, students, and companies in the prefecture will continue to work together for the future of space development. I look forward to working with you.

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Paper on Hayabusa2
・A paper on Hayabusa2, in which UoA researchers and students were the lead authors and co-authors, has been published in Science.
u-aizu.ac.jp/en/information/3science.html
※Students from the University of Aizu have joined as co-authors.

・Research Paper about Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa 2 Co-authored by University of Aizu Faculty Members and Student Published in Digital Edition of Nature
u-aizu.ac.jp/en/information/nature.html
※Students from the University of Aizu have joined as co-authors.

・Paper on Achievements on Hayabusa2 Observations Published in Science Magazine
u-aizu.ac.jp/en/information/science.html

・Paper on Achievements on Hayabusa2 Observations Published in the Digital Edition of Science
u-aizu.ac.jp/en/information/2.html

・Paper on Observational Results of Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2" Published in the British Scientific Journal Nature Astronomy.
u-aizu.ac.jp/en/information/nature-astronomy.html