DATE2025.11.03 #Awards & Prizes

Professor Emeritus Hiroko Nagahara awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure in the autumn of 2025.

Professor Emeritus Hiroko Nagahara has been awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette in the Autumn Conferment of Decorations.

Prof. Nagahara has opened new horizons in space science by integrating physical and chemical processes through analyses and reproduction experiments of extraterrestrial materials, experimental and theoretical studies of mineral reactions in space, and modeling of the differentiation of the Moon and asteroids as well as the chemical structure of protoplanetary disks.

Among her many outstanding achievements, one of the most representative is her demonstration that chondrules, the main constituents of primitive meteorites, formed by remelting of mineral dust during transient heating events in the early Solar System. This finding elucidated in detail the material evolution that occurred in the earliest stages of the Solar System. She also experimentally determined the crystallographic orientation and temperature dependence of evaporation kinetics of olivine, one of the most important minerals based on cosmic elemental abundances, thereby providing key chemical parameters essential for understanding material evolution not only in the Solar System but also in protoplanetary disks and around evolved stars. These world-leading results have become a foundation for many subsequent studies.

In addition to her pioneering research, Prof. Nagahara has played a major role in advancing space science in Japan through her leadership in national and international academic societies, including serving as President of The Meteoritical Society, establishing guidelines for space exploration through participation in various committees of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Cabinet Office, and promoting fundamental research as Vice Director of the Research Center for Science Systems at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

As one of Prof. Nagahara’s mentees, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to her on receiving this distinguished honor in recognition of her many years of outstanding contributions.

The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in Autumn 2025 

(Written by: Shogo Tachibana, Professor, UTokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science (UTOPS) / Department of Earth and Planetary Science)