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Mikouchi Lab
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The lab studies meteorites and lunar rocks to understand how bodies in the solar system grew and evolved.
AboutAbout the lab
The solar system's evolution, recorded in meteorites.
Mikouchi Lab studies the formation and evolution of solid materials from the birth of the solar system to the present, as well as the principles governing planet formation and internal evolution.
The lab examines meteorites and lunar rocks using analytical methods for very small areas, such as scanning and transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
A distinctive feature of the lab is that it treats the solid materials found in the Earth, planets, and meteorites as minerals, focusing on their crystal structures and textures and on how these relate to the conditions under which they formed.
The lab carries out joint projects with many research institutions abroad, including NASA's Johnson Space Center in the United States.
Key terms
- Meteorites
- A rock that has fallen to Earth from space. It preserves a record of the time when the solar system formed.
- Minerals
- A substance with a definite chemical composition and crystal structure that makes up rocks.
- Carbonaceous chondrites
- A type of meteorite rich in carbon. It preserves material from the very early solar system.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Aiming to clarify the general processes of the evolution of bodies in the solar system, the lab studies a variety of solid planetary materials. It analyzes meteorites and other samples with electron microscopes and synchrotron X-ray spectrometers, and combines this with laboratory experiments to reveal the environments in which extraterrestrial materials formed.
*Illustrative imageDiscovering new minerals in meteorites
Using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) systems attached to electron microscopes, the lab has examined carbonaceous chondrites and discovered previously unknown minerals. These findings place constraints on the environments in which they formed, in the protosolar nebula and on parent bodies.
*Illustrative imageAnalyzing dust returned by space probes
The lab has analyzed dust from comet Wild 2 brought back by the Stardust spacecraft, and particles from asteroid Itokawa brought back by Hayabusa. More recently, as part of an initial analysis team, it has been carrying out mineralogical analysis of Ryugu samples.
*Illustrative imageA meteorite that broke apart and reassembled
The lab analyzed the Almahata Sitta meteorite, the first case in which an object observed in space was later recovered as a meteorite that fell to Earth. From this brecciated meteorite, it investigates events in which a parent body is broken apart and its fragments reassemble.
*Illustrative imageHow differentiated meteorites formed
For differentiated meteorites formed in the very early solar system, the lab has investigated their formation processes by combining mineral analysis with crystallization experiments in electric furnaces with controlled oxygen levels.
MembersFaculty
The members of Mikouchi Lab consist of faculty staff, doctoral and master's students, and museum promotion staff and research project collaborators.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakashi MikouchiPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Tissint meteorite” Jon Taylor / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Discovering new minerals in meteorites: “Moss meteorite, slice2” Jon Taylor / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Analyzing dust returned by space probes: “Comet particle tracks in aerogel. of Stardust PIA02188” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- A meteorite that broke apart and reassembled: “Almahata Sitta meteorite” Jon Taylor / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- How differentiated meteorites formed: “Agoult meteorite, unbrecciated eucrite, slice” Jon Taylor / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sugita Lab): “Ryugu colored desaturated” Original image taken by JAXA/ISAS, processed by Meli thev, image adjusted by Nrco0e / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takigawa Lab): “Allende meteorite ( )” Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kagi Lab): “DiamondAnvilCell 003” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Hirasawa Lab): “Palaeospondylus CMC” Skye McDavid / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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