Associate Staff Scientist
Takayuki HIRAI
・Education
2014 SOKENDAI (the Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Department of Space and
Astronautical Science (JAXA/ISAS), Ph.D., Planetary Science and Deep-space Exploration
・Professional experience
After finishing my Ph.D. work, I have (had) been involved in development of in-situ dust impact detector by using piezoelectric film sensor, operation of hypervelocity impact experiment facility, risk assessment of space debris impacts on satellites, and etc. at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Since January 2018, I have been working at PERC.
・Research interest & current work
I am interested in revealing the origin and evolution of various bodies in and outside the solar system via cosmic dust and deep-space exploration. At PERC, I am mainly working for the development of dust analyzer onboard DESTINY+ spacecraft in addition to development of in-situ dust impact detectors for EQUULEUS, MMX, Solar Power Sail missions, and development of hypervelocity microparticle accelerator in collaboration with MIT-ISN, modeling work by using dust observation data, and so on. I am dreaming that the next civilization will find our humankind’s heritage brought by our act of art, science, and
exploration (hopefully including my work) in the distant future. *This thought is originated from one of my peers working at NASA/JPL.
・Miscellaneous