(8915) Sawaishujiro Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 December 1995 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
Shujiro Sawai (b. 1966) is an engineer in charge of the chemical propulsion system of MUSES-C, the Japanese sample-return mission. He is also one of the patent holders of the sampling mechanism installed on the MUSES-C spacecraft.Naming citation (20030501/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Sawaishujiro is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Sawaishujiro is 4.01 au from the Sun and 3.85 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8915 |
| Provisional designation | 1995 YK3 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 30.1 km (#1,355 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0590 |
| Rotation period | 330 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.62 |
| Orbital period | 7.79 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.93 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 3.74 – 4.13 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0497 |
| Inclination | 3.69° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 2.73 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.