Space agency
Appears in 8 stories · Last updated Nov 3, 2026
Operated Hayabusa2, which returned Ryugu samples in 2020
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped 5.4 grams of asteroid Ryugu onto Earth in 2020. In March 2026, researchers reported that those pristine grains contain all five nucleobases used in DNA and RNA.
Updated Nov 3
Mission lead
Japan's Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft is healthy two days after launch, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said on October 21, with the critical first sequence of operations complete. The probe lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. local time on October 20 aboard an H3 rocket.
Updated Oct 26
As of September 2026: Contributed high-resolution magnetic data
ETH Zurich researchers combined gravity and magnetic measurements from orbiting probes and found a buried, strongly magnetized volcanic complex beneath the Moon's far side. The 4.2-billion-year-old structure, roughly 60 kilometers wide, is the strongest evidence yet that the Moon once generated its own magnetic field.
Updated Sep 26
As of September 2026: Operator of the XRISM satellite
Astronomers have known black holes launch winds for decades. New X-ray data shows one quasar's winds churn hot gas across 300,000 light-years, three times the width of the Milky Way, with roughly 100 times more energy than earlier estimates.
Updated Sep 15
As of September 2026: Data contributor
NASA is targeting 2028 for humans to walk on the Moon again. Before astronauts land, scientists must find ice in shadowed craters and identify safe terrain. On September 11, that mapping work got a new tool: an open-source AI model built by IBM and NASA.
Updated Sep 11
As of August 2026: Built and launched QZS-7 aboard its H3 rocket
Every phone map, ride-share pickup, and delivery van in Japan has leaned on a signal owned by the United States. On August 11, Japan moved to change that. An H3 rocket carried the Michibiki No. 7 satellite to orbit, giving Japan enough satellites overhead to fix a position without the US Global Positioning System.
Updated Aug 11
As of July 2026: Operates Hayabusa2
On July 5, 2026, a Japanese spacecraft flew about 1 kilometer past an asteroid the size of a skyscraper, moving at roughly 5 kilometers per second. JAXA confirmed Hayabusa2 pulled off the pass and gathered data on 98943 Torifune, a 450-meter rock no probe had ever visited.
Updated Jul 5
As of June 2026: Co-developer and operator of the H3, responsible for the failure investigation
Japan's H3 rocket has been out of service since a December 2025 upper-stage failure destroyed a navigation satellite. A June 10 launch attempt was scrubbed by weather; JAXA reset the window to June 12, opening at 9:54 a.m. local time.
Updated Jun 11
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