Where No Man Has Gone Before Aerospace

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

MASATOSHI HIRABAYASHI

Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering 334-844-5220 thirabayashi@auburn.edu Website: aub.ie/THirabayashi

Masatoshi Hirabayashi, assistant professor in aerospace engineering, continues to push the boundaries of planetary exploration through his work on two asteroid exploration missions: OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2. OSIRIS-REx, a NASA asteroid sample-return mission, seeks to understand more about both the past and future of human life by analyzing the carbonaceous asteroid, Bennu. Objectives for this mission include investigating the geophysical, mineralogical and geological processes of Bennu as well as analyzing its organic materials. Similarly, Hayabusa2, a Japanese asteroid sample-return mission, aims to learn more about the evolution of the solar system and Earth’s history by collecting organic materials. Hirabayashi serves as a co-investigator of the Optical Navigation Camera team of Hayabusa2, and he is a collaborator on the Radio Science team of OSIRIS-REx. Hirabayashi’s Space Technology Applications Research, or STAR, lab focuses on conducting multidisciplinary research related to space engineering and science in the effort to find new possibilities for planetary missions, including OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2. Hirabayashi’s contributions to these asteroid exploration missions have been documented in a nature astronomy journal for OSIRIS-REx, and two science journal papers and one Astrophysical Journal Letters paper for Hayabusa2. “OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 overcame many hardships and finally approached their targets,” Hirabayashi said. “They are significantly contributing to both scientific and engineering advances.”