The ground event was held together with the Asian Try Zero G 2023 in-orbit experiment!

On February 13, 2024, simple space experiments for young people (Asian Try Zero-G 2023) were conducted by JAXA Astronaut FURUKAWA Satoshi. Before the in-orbit experiments, students participated in an onsite event with a tour of Tsukuba Space Center facilities. Additionally, an orientation session was conducted, featuring presentations of each experiment/exercise in a hybrid format, combining onsite and online sessions.

On February 13, 2024, 30 participants that proposed experiments/exercises and 17 escorts from Australia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand visited the Tsukuba Space Center. Participants from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan who were unable to come to the Tsukuba Space Center participated online.

The students and their escorts visited the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center and first toured the exhibition hall (Space Dome) where rockets, satellites, and a model of Kibo are on display. After the tour, the participants moved to the Astronaut Training Facility, where JAXA staff provided explanations about models of equipment used in experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), Closed Environment Simulation Facility, and space suits. Participants listened attentively to learn about the training procedures for space habitation. Afterward, they signed a poster commemorating the mission. This poster will later be affixed to a signboard at the Tsukuba Space Center, where personnel involved in each mission will also sign it.

Before the start of the space experiment, an orientation ceremony was held to award certificates of participation and each participant presented their experiment proposal. Dr. SHIRAKAWA Masaki, Director of Kibo Utilization Center, presented certificates of participation to the onsite teams and JAXA astronaut KANAI Norishige personally distributed signed autograph to each team member. Teams that participated online will also receive these items at a later date. A commemorative photo was taken with Director SHIRAKAWA and Astronaut KANAI for each experiment, and online participants were photographed through a PC monitor. Afterwards, JAXA Flight Director (JFD) TAKAHASHI delivered a keynote speech titled "ISS Kibo Module and Its Operation." During her presentation, she provided insights into the ISS and Kibo, detailing their characteristics and how they are supported from the ground. The presentations by each of the participants were followed by an explanation of their proposed experiments and predictions of in-orbit results, followed by a question-and-answer session. We were impressed by the presenters' active engagement and the creative materials and presentations provided by each participant.

After the orientation, students visiting JAXA Tsukuba Space Center moved to a special room overlooking Kibo's Mission Control Room (MCR), where they had the rare experience of seeing Astronaut FURUKAWA Satoshi conducting simple physics experiments and exercises on Kibo, and the ground operation control personnel supporting him in real time. In this special room, they listened to explanations and experiences from Astronaut KANAI Norishige and observed their proposed space experiments. Students who participated online were also able to observe the orbital images as they were streamed in real time. The event ended with the successful completion of all simple physics and exercise space experiments.

Asian Try Zero G aims to support students and young researchers in the Asia-Pacific region. And you may be the next challenger! See you soon!