A small space capsule containing surface samples taken from asteroid Ryugu has returned to Earth and researchers including Auburn's Masatoshi Hirabayashi, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, are eager to examine its contents.
Aerospace engineering assistant professor Masatoshi Hirabayashi reports a recent NASA mission to collect surface material from Asteroid Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid more than 321 million kilometers from Earth, was successful.
An Auburn University aerospace engineering doctoral student has received the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship, becoming one of only 30 recipients worldwide for the 2020-21 academic year.
Auburn University researchers recently received a grant from NASA through the organization’s Early Stage Innovations 2019 initiative for a project that aims to aid in future moon landings.
Masatoshi Hirabayashi, assistant professor in aerospace engineering, is part of two on-going asteroid exploration missions — OSIRIS-Rex, a NASA asteroid sample-return mission, and Hayabusa2, a Japanese asteroid sample-return mission. Hirabayashi investigates the geophysical features of these target asteroids.