Dr. Junichiro Kawaguchi, asteroid exploration pioneer, joins the Luxembourg Space Resources Advisory Board
Luxembourg, December 13, 2019 – The Luxembourg Space Agency today announced that Dr. Junichiro Kawaguchi, Senior Fellow at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will be joining the Advisory Board of the SpaceResources.lu initiative.
Asteroid exploration
Dr. Kawaguchi initiated and led the Hayabusa project from the ‘90s, and in 2010, he served as project manager on the mission, which was first to successfully bring back samples from a near Earth asteroid.
Dr. Kawaguchi graduated in 1978 from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kyoto University. Five years later, he completed his doctorate in Aeronautics at the Graduate School of Engineering, the the University of Tokyo.
Furthermore, Dr. Kawaguchi has been a professor at the University of Tokyo for decades. He was a member of the Science Council of Japan. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and appeared on cinema and television.
Marc Serres, CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency, stated: “I am delighted to welcome Dr. Kawaguchi whose expertise and long-standing experience make him a valuable member of the Advisory Board of SpaceReources.lu. His contribution will have a significant impact on our initiative given that the identification and utilisation of space resources is driven by a revolution in space technology.”
Space Resources Advisory Board
The Advisory Board helps guide the Luxembourg government and the Luxembourg Space Agency in positioning the country as a European hub for the exploration and use of space resources.
Dr Kawaguchi will be joining space industry luminaries including Jean-Jacques Dordain, former Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Prof. Seung Jo Kim, former President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Pete Worden, former Director of NASA’s Ames Research center and Wu Ji, Chief Scientist and Project leader of the Strategic Priority Programme on Space Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jean-Louis Schiltz, Attorney and Guest Professor at the University of Luxembourg, and Georges Schmit, Special Envoy of the Government of Luxembourg.
