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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 11h

And then we’re back and Australia could have been a dream… but there are hints 😂

A large plastic tub of Vegemite sits on a kitchen counter.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 1d

KANGANAUT! 👩‍🚀🦘That is all.

A kangaroo plushie dressed in an astronaut suit stands on a table surrounded by stickers to take. The kangaroo is carrying a boomerang and an Aboriginal flag.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 1d

JAXA work closely with the ASA (Australian Space Agency) for the capsule delivery, so I think that the engagement would be from the ASA.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 1d

Ready to roll! 🎲 🛰️

Chairs set up around a large screen and lectern at the Adelaide Space Discovery Centre, HQ of the Australian Space Agency.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 1d

Today! In just under three hours 🧪🛰️🔭

Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

Tomorrow (10/07) at 10:30am ACDT, JAXA ISAS Director General Fujimoto Masaki will give a talk (online and on-site) about the Hayabusa2 mission 🛰️🔭, as a fragment of asteroid Ryugu is unveiled for display at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide 🪨! Register below (all free!) 🧪

www.space.gov.au

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

Time to eat the local fauna 🦘

A selfie of me grinning behind a suspended skewer of kangaroo meat, hanging over a bed of chunky chips.

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Reposted by Elizabeth Tasker

Jack Ryan 🙏🧪 @jacksonwryan.com · 2d

One of my favourite long term writing and reporting projects ever.

Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

The return of the Hayabusa2 sample capsule to Australia, and a wonderfully personal account of the mission, was written by @jacksonwryan.com. Fujimoto Masaki led the recovery team, and he insisted that JAXA allocate a Ryugu sample grain to be displayed in Adelaide as soon as they requested.

Journey to the Dragon Palace: Inside Japan's daring 10-year mission to visit asteroid Ryugu

Here is how Japan's space agency pulled off a daring expedition to snatch pieces of the ancient space rock Ryugu.

www.cnet.com

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

The return of the Hayabusa2 sample capsule to Australia, and a wonderfully personal account of the mission, was written by @jacksonwryan.com. Fujimoto Masaki led the recovery team, and he insisted that JAXA allocate a Ryugu sample grain to be displayed in Adelaide as soon as they requested.

Journey to the Dragon Palace: Inside Japan's daring 10-year mission to visit asteroid Ryugu

Here is how Japan's space agency pulled off a daring expedition to snatch pieces of the ancient space rock Ryugu.

www.cnet.com

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

Adelaide is the nearest big city to the Woomera desert, where the Hayabusa2 sample capsule landed in December 2020. So this tiny grain is coming back to its first home 🤩

Discussions are now in full-swing to land the capsule for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission in Woomera in 2031 ☄️

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 2d

Tomorrow (10/07) at 10:30am ACDT, JAXA ISAS Director General Fujimoto Masaki will give a talk (online and on-site) about the Hayabusa2 mission 🛰️🔭, as a fragment of asteroid Ryugu is unveiled for display at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide 🪨! Register below (all free!) 🧪

www.space.gov.au

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 3d

Doesn't seem to!

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 3d

A JAXA masu (square wooden box used for drinking sake) that were themed for the #IAC2025 this year in Sydney!

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 5d

Unfortunately, I’m visiting friends in the blue mountains tomorrow and then I have to head to Adelaide for the new asteroid grain exhibit there 🙁

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 5d

It’s public day at the # IAC2025. A small child, dressed in an astronaut costume, rushed the JAXA booth and hugged the model H3 rocket which wobbled dangerously.

It’s six minutes past 9. Pray for me.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

Yeah yeah YEAH! A fragment from the start of our world is on display at the #IAC2025 in Sydney! Do check out the Australian Space Agency pavilion if you’re dropping by the public day tomorrow!

Maddy Parks (ASA) and I laugh and point at the Ryugu grain exhibit we’re setting up. The sample grain is sitting under a digital microscope in the Australian Space Agency pavilion.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

The reason for this rule is rumoured to be an individual who bought one registration, and then repeatedly requested replacement badges to give to colleagues.

But surely punishing the 7000+ remaining attendees achieves nothing. Wouldn't it be better to publicly ban the individual & their institute?

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

All attendees at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) recieved an email stating that replacement badges would be charged at the full registration fee.

This piece of cardboard is therefore worth more than the bespoke Hayabusa2 model I brought for display 🤨

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

I was going to type that but felt it might be insensitive to actual emotional support animals 😂

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

I have gained a supportive koala.

A photo of my torso showing a small clip-on koala holding on to my suit jacket lapel. The koala wears a green shirt with “Australian space agency” written on it (although this is hard to see).

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 6d

Not all heroes wear capes. BUT SOME TOTALLY DO!

(Or don a furoshiki decorated with the bestest ever mission that will head to Phobos next year!)

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 7d

(Knife-sharp asteroid enthusiasts will note that the target of DESTINY+ was originally the active asteroid, Phaethon. However, with the launch on the larger H3 rocket with Ramses, DESTINY+ can first perform a fly-by of Apophis before going on to track down Phaethon.)

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 7d

2 space agencies,
2 epic missions,
1 in-coming asteroid, and
1 sweet logo!

A joint launch for the ESA Ramses and JAXA DESTINY+ missions onboard the JAXA H3 is under consideration 🚀🛰️🛰️ Both missions will observe asteroid Apophis which will NOT HIT THE EARTH but make a close approach in 2029.

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Reposted by Elizabeth Tasker

Nerd Nite Tokyo @nerdnitetokyo.bsky.social · 7d

Friday, October 17, Nerd Nite Tokyo is looking at looking!

First, Guillaume Pelat discusses how computer vision works. Then, @elizabethtasker.bsky.social is back to talk about her experience narrating a live Moon landing for JAXA!

tokyo.nerdnite.com

#space #ai #science #nerdnite #tokyo #events

Please see https://tokyo.nerdnite.com/ for event details.

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Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 9d

I think the Japan side have become anaesthetised to the entire process 😅

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Reposted by Elizabeth Tasker

Andrew Jones @andrewjonesspace.bsky.social · 9d

JAXA's Hiroshi Yamakawa says MMX Phobos sample return mission almost ready, undergoing final testing. Launch in 2026, return to Earth with samples of the Martian moon in 2031. #IAC2025

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