Two papers regarding the initial analysis of samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu by the JAXA's "Hayabusa2" spacecraft (※1) , which includes faculty members of the University of Aizu as coauthors, were published in the Transactions of the Japan Academy (※2) and the American scientific journal Science (※3), respectively, on June 10, 2022.

Paper title:
On the origin and evolution of the asteroid Ryugu: A comprehensive geochemical perspective

Journal:
Proceedings of The Japan Academy, Series B. Vol 98, No. 6, pp.227-282

Corresponding author:
NAKAMURA Eizo (Okayama University)
Co-authors:
HIRATA Naru (Senior Associate Professor)
HONDA Chikatoshi (Associate Professor)
KITAZATO Kohei (Associate Professor)
(the University of Aizu faculty only・in author-list order)

JAXA News Topics:
Ryugu may have originated from a comet nucleus that contained amino acids needed for life on Earth

Paper title:
Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu are similar to Ivuna-type carbonaceous meteorites

Journal:
Science

Lead authors:
YOKOYAMA Tetsuya (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
NAGASHIMA Kazuhide (University of Hawaii)
Corresponding author:
YURIMOTO Hisayoshi (Hokkaido University)
Co-authors:
HIRATA Naru (Senior Associate Professor)
HONDA Chikatoshi (Associate Professor)
KITAZATO Kohei (Associate Professor)
(the University of Aizu faculty only・in author-list order)

JAXA News Topics:
Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 Initial Analysis Chemical Analysis Team reveals aqueous alteration and primitive composition of asteroid Ryugu

※1 Hayabusa2 project 
※2 Transactions of the Japan Academy 
※3 Science