Interests
Asteroid navigation and characterisation, spacecraft, solar sails.
Research
Professor Kawaguchi’s most notable achievement is his role as Project Manager of the Hayabusa Mission from 1996 - 2011, during which time he organised the successful touchdown to surface of a near-Earth asteroid Itokawa and returned the sample back to Australia in 2010. For more details of his research output and interests, please see his publications.
Biography
Professor Kawaguchi was the first appointment in the new Research School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering in the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science. As an Honorary Fellow, Professor Kawaguchi will help build the newly launched research school and attract some of the biggest names and brightest stars in space exploration to campus. He has had a long and distinguished career in solar system exploration, having been engaged in the development of several interplanetary spacecraft and two moon exploration satellites, and serving on the Board of Trustees of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). For more information, please see these links.
Activities & Awards
- Guiness World Record Award, 2011
- The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Operations and Support Award for 2011, 2011
- IAA Team Achievement Award, 2011
- Space Achievement Award, National Space Foundation, 2012
- SpaceOps Achievment Award, AIAA/SpaceOps, 2012
- John Breakwell Memorial Award, IAC 2012, 2012
For a full list of activities and awards, please see Professor Kawaguchi’s website.