Please send us your messages!

As we prepare for the flyby exploration of asteroid Torifune, we are holding a second round on the “Million Campaign 2#”, where we send your messages to Hayabusa2!

The “Million Campaign 2#” was the third installment of the “Let’s meet the Petit Prince” campaigns that ran from July 2022 to January 2023 [see here]. The messages we received during that period were sent to the Hayabusa2 spacecraft in April 2023, and stored in the spacecraft’s memory. Everyone who sent a message also received an electronic “Hayabusa2# Ticket” (Solar System Tourist Pass) [Click here for details (in Japanese)]. This was the first round of this campaign.

Now the flyby of asteroid Torifune is approaching and it is time for the second round of the Million Campaign 2#! If you already have your Hayabusa2# Ticket, we will add a stamp when you send in a message for part 2. But even if you did not participate last time, you can join for this second round! Please send us your message to the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, and also to the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission Team.

Regarding messages sent to Hayabusa2 spacecraft, all messages already sent during the previous campaign will remain on the spacecraft. Your new message will be added and stored in the spacecraft memory.

Messages to both the spacecraft and the mission team can be rewritten as many times as you like before the submission deadline. The message version at the submission deadline will be the one sent to the spacecraft. The date the messages will all be transmitted to Hayabusa2 has not yet been decided, but the plan is to send the messages after the Torifune flyby. For the messages to the mission team, the team members will view these as they come in, so please feel free to send us a variety of messages!

• Enter from “here” ← Please check the notes below before entering!
  
• Application period: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – Friday, July 31, 2026

When you click the “here” above, the following screen will be displayed:

Figure 1: Initial screen (©JAXA)

If this is your first time to send a message, or you do not know your previously issued ticket number, please click “New ticket”. If you have the ticket number previously issued during the first part of the campaign, or if you want to change the message you submitted, please click “Add another stamp”. The “Check ticket” button allows you to redisplay your ticket (ticket number required).
* The “ticket number” refers to the “reserved seat number” shown on your issued ticket.

We cannot look up ticket numbers (reserved seat numbers). If you do not know your previous ticket number, please issue a new ticket.

[For first time submissions and those who do not know their issued ticket number]
If this is your first time submitting a message to the campaign, or you do not know your issued ticket number, please click the “New ticket” button. The following screen will then be displayed:

Figure 2: “New Ticket” screen (©JAXA)

The items you need to enter are as follows:

■ Name (up to 32 alphabetical characters, including spaces)
• •Your name will be printed on your “Solar System Tourist Pass”, so please be sure to fill in this field. A pen name or nickname is also acceptable.
• •Your entered name will not be sent to the spacecraft.
• •And your name will not be made public.

■ Country (select from the dropdown menu)
• • Please choose the country where you live or your country of residence from the dropdown menu.
• (The country name will be used when generating the seat number for the Solar System Tourist Pass.)
• • Your country name will not be made public.

■ Message to be sent to the spacecraft (up to 64 alphabetical characters, including spaces)
• • The message entered here will be sent to the Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
• • There are limitations on the characters than can be transmitted to the spacecraft, and system dependent characters cannot be used. The confirmation screen will be displayed after you enter your message, and you can confirm that your entered characters have displayed correctly. If there is a problem, you can replace the wrongly displayed characters and re-submit your message.
• • The message here will not be made public.

■ Message to the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission (up to 256 alphabetical characters, including spaces)
• • Here you can enter a message addressed to the Hayabusa2♯ Project!
• • This message can be made public, and may be published on the Project website. If you would rather not have your message published, please do not check “I agree to my message being published”.

[For those who know their previously issued ticket number]
If you sent a message during the previous part of the campaign and know your ticket number, or if you would like to change the message that you entered this time, please click “Add another stamp” (Figure 1). Then the following screen will be displayed:

Figure 3: “Add another stamp” screen (©JAXA)

Enter your ticket number (reserved seat number) here and click “Next” to display the following screen:

Figure 4: Continuation of the “Add another stamp” screen (©JAXA)

In Figure 4, the previously entered message is displayed in the “***” boxes, so if you would like to submit a new message, please overwrite it here. Overwriting will replace the previous message with the newly entered version.

[Ticket Complete]
For “New ticket,” “Add another stamp,” and “Check ticket,” the “Ticket complete” screen will appear and show your “Solar System Tourist Pass”. The ticket number will also be displayed, so it is a good idea to print the screen or make a note of the ticket number (reserved seat number) so you don’t forget this. On the “Ticket complete” page there are buttons for “Download” and “Share ticket”. The “Download” button allows your Solar System Tourist Pass to be downloaded as a flle, and the “Share ticket” button shows a version of the ticket without the ticket number (reserved seat number) so that you can share the ticket on social media without revealing your ticket number.

Hayabusa2 departed the Earth to begin a new journey on December 6, 2020, and will now face its first major milestone as the spacecraft attempts the flyby exploration of asteroid Torifune on July 5, 2026. Then in December 2027 and June 2028, Hayabusa2 will approach the Earth to perform Earth swing-bys, and in July 2031, the spacecraft will arrive at the final destination, the asteroid 1998 KY26. Please enjoy the journey through space with the Hayabusa2♯ mission!

The journey of the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission (Hayabusa2#).
※ Indicates the number of orbits around the Sun. (©JAXA)

※Reference: Previous “Let’s meet the Petit Prince! Million Campaign”

• ■The first “Let’s meet with Le Petit Prince! Million Campaign” was held for the first Hayabusa mission. In June and July 2002, a year before the launch of Hayabusa, everyone sent us their names and we engraved these on a thin sheet that was mounted in a target marker (a guide for performing touchdown). The target marker was delivered to asteroid Itokawa in November 2005, containing the names of about 880,000 people. (Reference (in Japanese): here)

• ■The second “Let’s meet with Le Petit Prince! Million Campaign 2” ran from April to August 2013 before the launch of Hayabusa2, and collected names and messages. A sheet engraved with all the submitted names was included in the target markers for Hayabusa2, and the re-entry capsule was equipped with a memory chip containing both names and messages. The target markers were delivered to asteroid Ryugu in 2018 and 2019. The capsule returned to Earth on December 6, 2020, completing the round-trip to asteroid Ryugu. A total of 410,000 people participated in the “Million Campaign 2”. (Reference (in Japanese): here)

• ■ The third “Let’s meet with Le Petit Prince! Million Campaign 2#” is the campaign that will continue through the Extended Mission. The first part was held from July 2022 to January 2023. Participants sent in messages for the spacecraft and for the Hayabusa2# team. The 3,080 messages we received were written to the spacecraft’s memory in April 2023. The first part of the campaign was to commemorate the spacecraft’s return to deep space from Earth, and this second part now commemorates the Torifune flyby. (Reference (in Japanese): here)