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Namiki Lab (RISE Lunar and Planetary Exploration Study Office)
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The lab uses spacecraft laser altimeters to explore the interior and evolution of the Moon and planets.
AboutAbout the lab
Reading a world's interior from its shape and gravity
The Namiki Lab studies the internal structure and evolution of planets and moons.
In the RISE Lunar and Planetary Exploration Project of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, led by Prof. Namiki, the lab works on planetary geodesy, which applies geodetic methods for studying Earth's shape and gravity to the Moon and planets.
Working with JAXA and universities, the lab has developed and operated instruments that measure the topography and gravity of celestial bodies on the lunar orbiter Kaguya and the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2.
Its goal is to reveal the internal structure and evolution of the Moon, planets, and asteroids.
Key terms
- Planetary geodesy
- The study of the interiors of the Moon and planets by measuring the shape, gravity, and rotation of celestial bodies and how they change
- Laser altimeter
- An instrument that shines laser light from a spacecraft onto a body's surface and measures the distance from the time the light takes to bounce back
- Tidal deformation
- The slight stretching and squeezing of a body's shape as it is pulled by the gravity of a large nearby body
NewsLab news
A paper by a graduate on the surface roughness of Mercury's topography was published in The Planetary Science Journal
Research on the Moon's internal evolution, carried out during doctoral studies, was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
ResearchResearch themes
The lab looks for clues to the internal structure and evolution of planets and moons in observational data from spacecraft. It develops and operates instruments such as laser altimeters carried on spacecraft, and analyzes the resulting data.
*Illustrative imageHayabusa2's Laser Altimeter
Building on its experience with Kaguya's laser altimeter, the lab takes part, together with Chiba Institute of Technology, the University of Aizu, and others, in the Hayabusa2 laser altimeter (LIDAR), which was developed mainly by JAXA. The altimeter measures the distance to the asteroid Ryugu, and the team builds models of its shape and gravity to estimate its density and internal structure.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring Jupiter's Moon Ganymede
The lab is co-developing the Ganymede Laser Altimeter for JUICE, the Jupiter exploration mission led by the European Space Agency, together with researchers from Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and Spain. The instrument will detect Ganymede's tidal deformation to determine whether there is an ocean beneath the ice.
*Illustrative imageTopography and Geological Evolution of Mercury
A graduate who earned a PhD under Prof. Namiki combined topographic data made from images to examine the global distribution of surface roughness on Mercury. Prof. Namiki is also a member of the team for the laser altimeter on BepiColombo, the joint Japan–Europe spacecraft set to arrive at Mercury in 2026.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorNoriyuki Namiki
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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.
- Top image: “PIA16587 - GRAIL's Gravity Field of the Moon” NASA/ARC/MIT / Public domain (cropped)
- Hayabusa2's Laser Altimeter: “Asteroid Ryugu (ann19006a)” JAXA, University of Tokyo & collaborators / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Measuring Jupiter's Moon Ganymede: “Juno Ganymede PIA25028” NASA /JPL / Public domain (cropped)
- Topography and Geological Evolution of Mercury: “Mercury MESSENGER MDIS Basemap EnhancedColor Mosaic Global 32ppd” Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Applied Coherent Technology Corporation / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamazaki Lab (Hisaki / SPRINT-A · Planetary Exploration)): “Global view uvi Venus (Akatsuki)” Meli thev / CC BY 4.0 (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 (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)
- Related lab (Amano Lab): “Supernova Remnant SN 1006” X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenaï, J.Hughes et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/GBT/VLA/Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell; Optical: Middlebury College/F.Winkler, NOAO/AURA/NSF/CTIO Schmidt & DSS / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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