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Yoshikawa-Yoshioka Lab
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The lab develops observation instruments to study planetary atmospheres from deep space.
AboutAbout the lab
The joy of being the first to learn the truth about the universe
The Yoshikawa-Yoshioka Lab develops instruments for planetary probes and for satellites orbiting the Earth.
The instruments observe, from a distance, the light emitted by planetary atmospheres and plasma.
To understand how atmospheres formed and how they change over short and long timescales, the lab works on everything from instrument development to data analysis.
The lab consists of two groups: the Yoshikawa Lab and the Yoshioka Lab.
Key terms
- Plasma
- A gas in which atoms have separated into electrons and ions, so that electrically charged particles fly around
- Extreme ultraviolet light
- Light with an especially short wavelength even among ultraviolet rays. Seen in this light, things such as the plasma around the Earth show up
- Ultraviolet light
- Light with a shorter wavelength than visible light. Because short-wavelength ultraviolet cannot pass through the Earth's atmosphere, it is observed from space
NewsLab news
A paper on a comet observation instrument by an alumnus was published
A paper by a doctoral student was selected as a Top Viewed Article by Wiley
A master's student received the Young Researcher Encouragement Award from the Remote Sensing Society of Japan
A paper on solar plasma, with a doctoral student as first author, was published
A master's student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award at JpGU 2025
ResearchResearch themes
The lab develops instruments that observe in invisible, special light (ultraviolet), mounts them on planetary probes, space stations, and satellites orbiting the Earth, and uses them to study the composition and motion of planetary atmospheres. The lab also played a central role in developing Hisaki, the extreme ultraviolet space telescope.
*Illustrative imageIntercepting a Long-Period Comet
In Comet Interceptor, a comet exploration mission led by ESA and JAXA, the Yoshioka Lab is developing an ultraviolet imager that captures the hydrogen light emitted from comets. The aim is to learn about the water in comets and gain clues to the origin of Earth's water.
*Illustrative imageBepiColombo Mercury Mission
In the JAXA-ESA Mercury exploration program, the lab led the development of an instrument that spectroscopically observes sodium atoms around Mercury, and also developed part of the detectors for other instruments. The spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury at the end of 2026, and the lab will work on analyzing the Mercury data to come.
*Illustrative imageLAPYUTA, the Next Ultraviolet Space Telescope
In the planned next-generation ultraviolet space telescope that takes on the challenges Hisaki left behind, the lab plays an important role in studying the optical instruments. It also leads calculations of the radiation environment the telescope will be exposed to and studies of the required shield thickness.
*Illustrative imageMachine Learning for Space Science
The lab is developing a system that uses AI to automatically find and classify boulders in surface images of the asteroids Ryugu and Bennu taken by spacecraft. It is also working on building models that remain usable in environments different from the celestial bodies they were trained on.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Yoshikawa-Yoshioka Lab consist of faculty members and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorIchiro YoshikawaPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorYoshioka KazuoPublications ↗
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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: “Hisaki-sprint-a-artistconcept2013” Nesnad / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Intercepting a Long-Period Comet: “Ultraviolet Radiation From Hydrogen Atoms in Coma of Comet Hyakutake” M. Combi (University of Michigan) / Public domain (cropped)
- BepiColombo Mercury Mission: “BepiColombo spacecraft model” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Public domain (cropped)
- LAPYUTA, the Next Ultraviolet Space Telescope: “SPRINT-A 'Hisaki' MissionPart” テレストレラッソ / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Machine Learning for Space Science: “Bennu's Boulders and Limb from Detailed Survey” NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Kasahara Lab): “Aurora Australis From ISS” ISS Expedition 23 crew / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Sugita-Kasahara-Morota Lab (Planetary Exploration Research Group)): “Ryugu - RGB False Color - July )” Kevin Gill from Los Angeles, CA, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Namiki Lab (RISE Lunar and Planetary Exploration Study Office)): “PIA16587 - GRAIL's Gravity Field of the Moon” NASA/ARC/MIT / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Saito-Shinohara Lab (Space Plasma Division)): “Aurora borealis over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska” United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang / Public domain (cropped)
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