[Hayabusa2 Project site] What will asteroid Ryugu look like?

We are looking for host organisations for a space art contest!

Our asteroid explorer, Hayabusa2, is getting close to its destination. Between June and July 2018, the spacecraft will reach asteroid (162173) Ryugu and start to investigate this small world.

At the moment, we know very little about the appearance of Ryugu. We therefore are issuing a challenge to imagine what Hayabusa2 is going to see!

We invite science museums, planetariums, public observatories and other centres with space-related activities to become contest “nodes” and help us gather the most imaginative artwork from around the world.

(1) Contest name:

Imagining Ryugu

(2) Organiser and co-organiser

Organiser: The JAXA Hayabusa2 Project
Co-organiser: The local hosts that will be the contest “nodes”.

(3) Application procedure

1. We are looking for institutions or organisations that will become local contest hosts known as “nodes”.
• We invite you to submit a simple proposal for locally hosting the contest. We will check if your organisation can act as a node and if your plan meets the purpose of the contest.
• We accept applications until the end of February 2018.
• The selected nodes will be announced on the Hayabusa2 website.
2. Each node will gather artwork of asteroid Ryugu created by members of the public.
• Each node can decide the type of artwork they will invite and the period for submission.
• Artwork can be collected until the end of April 2018 (Hayabusa2 will be able to see asteroid Ryugu from May 2018!)
3. When Ryugu is clearly observable by Hayabusa2 (expected to be at the end of August 2018), the best artwork (one or more entries) at each node can be nominated to entre a global contest, judged by the Hayabusa2 team.
• Nomination deadline is the end of September 2018.
4. The Hayabusa2 project team will select and award a prize.
• Award announcement will be Fall 2018.

(4) What is the role of a node?

• The node will collect artwork of asteroid Ryugu.
• The node will select winning entries for each of the contest categories and nominate one or more entries to be judged in the global contest by the Hayabusa2 project team. (The procedure for nomination is described below.)
• Each node can carry out their own event or contest to gather artwork submissions.

Each node can decided on specific conditions for the contest, e.g. specifying the paper size or deciding whether to accept only illustrations or also photographs of sculptures and models.

• Institutes and organisations eligible to become nodes are science museums, museums, planetariums, public observatories and other organisations engages in space-related outreach and education.

(5) Entries for nomination to the global contest

• Both illustrations and photographs of three-dimensional models are accepted as nominations in the global contest. We are happy to accept any method of illustrating, including computer graphics. However, each node may impose additional rules for submission.
• Nominations may include a brief description explaining the size of Ryugu and the appearance of the surface.
• The work must be original and only one submission is allowed per person. (In the case of artwork produced by several people, only one submission can come from that group.)
• Artwork can be submitted at any node without charge, although exact rules of entry may differ from node to node.

(6) Contest Categories

• Ryugu look-a-like award
• The most fun submission
• The most imaginative entry

(Other categories are also currently being considered.)

Entries will also be subdivided approximately by age (exact division can be determined by the node, based on the most suitable groups for where they are based): below elementary school, lower elementary grades, upper elementary grades, middle school, high school, university student and general.

(7) The selected artwork

• Winning entries will be introduced on the Hayabusa2 website.
• There will be a fun prize awarded!

(8) Remarks

• Information that is currently known about asteroid Ryugu will be available for making the artwork (although it may be better to create without any prior knowledge!)

(9) Contact information

z-hayabusa2-contact@ml.jaxa.jp
(Hayabusa2 Mission Manager, Makoto Yoshikawa)

December 27, 2017
Hayabusa2 project