Thank you for visiting my website!

I’m Yudai (Rye) Suzuki, a “planetary explorer.”
While studying Mercury, comets, and planetary exploration missions, I also actively share insights into space science through various media.
I hope you enjoy exploring the site!

Research Projects

• Mercury’s Tenuous Exosphere

  • Interactions between the space environment, exosphere, and surface

  • Numerical modeling and analysis related to the MESSENGER and BepiColombo missions

• Cometary Comae and Ly-α Emissions

  • Water activity and hydrogen distributions

  • Radiative transfer modeling of hydrogen Ly-α emissions

  • Instrumentation studies for the Comet Interceptor mission

• UV Instrumentation

  • Design and development of UV optical systems

  • Development and characterization of gas filters

Professional Experience

Oct. 2025–Present   Visiting Fellow, Department of Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, USA 🇺🇸 (Supervisor: Dr. Carl Schmidt)

Apr. 2024–Present   JSPS Research Fellow (PD) Department of Solar System Sciences, ISAS/JAXA, Japan 🇯🇵 (Supervisor: Prof. Tomohiro Usui)

Apr. 2024–Mar. 2025   Part-time Lecturer, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 (Course: Thermal Vacuum Experiments, Earth and Planetary Physics Laboratory)

May. 2023–Dec. 2023   Membre associé, Le Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), France 🇫🇷 (Supervisor: Prof. Eric Quémerais)

Apr. 2023–Mar. 2024   JSPS Research Fellow (PD), Department of Solar System Sciences, ISAS/JAXA, Japan 🇯🇵 (Supervisor: Prof. Tomohiro Usui)

Apr. 2022–Mar. 2023   JSPS Research Fellow (DC2), Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 (Supervisor: Dr. Kazuo Yoshioka)

Oct. 2018–Mar. 2023   Program Fellow, International Graduate Program for Excellence in Earth-Space Science (IGPEES), The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 (Co-advisor: Prof. Ryu Funase)

Education

Apr. 2020–Mar. 2023   Ph.D., Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

Apr. 2018–Mar. 2020   M.Sc., Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

Apr. 2016–Mar. 2018   B.Sc., Department of Earth and Planetary Physics, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

Apr. 2014–Mar. 2016   College of Arts and Sciences (Natural Sciences I), The University of Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

Peer-Reviewed Publications

(4 first-authored & 4 co-authored papers)

1. Y. Suzuki, K. Yoshioka, K. Masunaga, H. Kawakita, Y. Shinnaka, G. Murakami, T. Kimura, F. Tsuchiya, A. Yamazaki, I. Yoshikawa, 2025. Contribution of multiple scattering to the Lyman Alpha radiance distribution in cometary comae. Icarus, 441, 116720. doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116720

2. Y. Suzuki, E. Quémerais, J.‐Y. Chaufray, R. Robidel, G. Murakami, F. Leblanc, K. Yoshioka, I. Yoshikawa, O. Korablev, 2024. Mg Exosphere of Mercury Observed by PHEBUS Onboard BepiColombo During Its Second and Third Swing-Bys. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2024JE008524. doi: 10.1029/2024JE008524

3. Y. Suzuki, K. Yoshioka, G. Murakami, I. Yoshikawa, 2023. The relation between the surface composition anomaly and distribution of the exosphere of Mercury. Earth, Planets and Space, 75, 174. doi: 10.1186/s40623-023-01929-x

4. Y. Suzuki, K. Yoshioka, G. Murakami, I. Yoshikawa, 2020. Seasonal Variability of Mercury’s Sodium Exosphere Deduced From MESSENGER Data and Numerical Simulation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125. doi: 10.1029/2020JE006472

5. Y. Uchida, K. Toyokawa, T. Usui, Y. Suzuki, H. Tabata, 2025. Longitudinal heterogeneity of Phobos’ crater size-frequency distribution: coevolution of resurfacing and orbital dynamics. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, 12:68. doi: 10.1186/s40645-025-00741-3

6. G. Nishiyama, Y. Suzuki, S. Uno, S. Aoki, T. Iwanaka, T. Imamura, Y. Fujii, T. G. Müller, M. Taguchi, T. Kouyama, O. Barraud, M. D’Amore, J. Helbert, S. Adeli, H. Hiesinger, 2025. Temporal variation in the cloud-top temperature of Venus revealed by meteorological satellites. Earth, Planets and Space, 77, 91. doi: 10.1186/s40623-025-02223-8

7. K. Masunaga, N. Terada, N. Yoshida, Y. Nakamura, T. Kuroda, K. Yoshioka, Y. Suzuki, H. Nakagawa, T. Kimura, F. Tsuchiya, G. Murakami, A. Yamazaki, T. Usui, I. Yoshikawa, 2022. Alternate oscillations of Martian hydrogen and oxygen upper atmospheres during a major dust storm. Nature communications, 13:6609. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34224-6

8. S. Sugita, Y. Suzuki (84番目), et al. (118名省略), 2019. The geomorphology, color, and thermal properties of Ryugu: Implications for parent-body processes. Science, 364, 6437. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw0422

Awards & Honors

Apr. 2024   Selected as JSPS Research Fellow (PD)

Nov. 2022   Best Presentation Award (Aurora Medal) at the 152nd SGEPSS Meeting

Apr. 2022   Selected as JSPS Research Fellow (DC2)

Feb. 2022   Encouragement Award, International Graduate Program for Excellence in Earth-Space Science (IGPEES)

Oct. 2021   Excellent Presentation Award at the 150th SGEPSS Meeting

Mar. 2019   Type-1 Teaching License (Science, Junior & Senior High School)

Dec. 2018   Certified Science Communicator, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan

Oct. 2018   Admitted to International Graduate Program for Excellence in Earth-Space Science (IGPEES), The University of Tokyo

Mar. 2018   Undergraduate Study Encouragement Award, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo

Sep. 2017   Best Presentation Awards (both individual and group), Subaru Autumn School 2017

Other activities: Numerous lectures, experimental classes, and workshops for citizens organized

Funding

(6 PI grants)

1. JSPS KAKENHI (Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows), Apr. 2024–Mar. 2027, Project title: “Interactions between Mercury’s Tenuous Exosphere and Surface Minerals through the Integration of Theory and Observations”, Grant No. 24KJ2224, total funding: JPY 3,640,000.

2. The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan (Foundation for Space Science), Travel Support for International Conference Participation, Dec. 2025, total funding: JPY 100,000

3. JSPS KAKENHI (Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows), Apr. 2022–Mar. 2024, Project title: “Formation Environment and Thermal History of Long-Period Comets Based on Theoretical Models and Spacecraft Observations”, Grant No. 22KJ0989, total funding: JPY 1,700,000.

4. ISAS/JAXA, Grant for Activities Supporting Career Development of Early-Career Researchers, Apr. 2023–Mar. 2024, total funding: JPY 200,000.

5. ISAS/JAXA, Grant for Activities Supporting Career Development of Early-Career Researchers, Apr. 2024–Mar. 2025, total funding: JPY 560,000.

6. Society of Geomagnetism, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences (SGEPSS), International Travel Support Program for Early-Career Researchers, Apr. 2023, total funding: JPY 316,451.

Hobbies & Interests

• Visiting castles and historical sites🏯

• Playing the piano 🎹 and guitar 🎸, singing 🎤, and composing music 🎼

• Playing basketball 🏀 and soccer ⚽️

• Chatting 🗣️

Last updated: 2026/01/01