Japan

The operation of the Precipitation Radar (PR) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was completed on 7 October 2014, as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA announced. TRMM is a joint enterprise between NASA and JAXA and is aimed to measure rainfall for extreme weather monitoring and climate research.

Rainfall observation by PR will be succeeded by the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar on board the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory, which was launched on 28 February 2014. JAXA specified: "Since the PR hardware is still in healthy condition, JAXA plans to conduct extra experimental operations of the PR during about 6 months while the spacecraft descending. The PR observation data around 350 km, which is original nominal altitude, will be distributed to public after verification. Also, NASA continues operations of the TRMM Microwave Imager while the spacecraft descending, since its operations do not depend on altitude."

On 7 October 2014 the Japan Meteorological Agency announced the successful launch of the geostationary meteorological satellite “Himawari-8” from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima, Japan.

The next-generation satellite represents a highly specialized technology that can be essential in the management of meteorological hazards, such as typhoons and volcanic eruptions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) envisioned the use of “Himarawi-8” as an essential instrument for disaster risk management and emergency response. For instance, “Himarawi-8” will improve the capacity to forecast typhoons, due to its ability to capture a typhoon once every 2.5 minutes, rather than at the current time-pace of 30 minutes. Also, innovative multi-colour images will replace black and white ones, facilitating the detection of volcanic gas plumes and enhancing the possibility of early warnings of volcanic eruption.... read more

Two Japanese microsatellites, developed by the University of Tokyo, have begun transmitting Earth Observation images. The images are available via Facebook and YouTube.

Produced at comparatively low costs and within little time, Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 are a "proof of concept in innovative satellite development" as the website AsianScientist cites. "By reducing the cost per satellite to less than three million US dollars and development time below two years, researchers expect that novel space utilizations and new space users will appear, creating an industry of space development and novel applications. For example, low cost and quick development satellites will enable frequent Earth observation using a large number of satellites or the concept of the... read more

In early July 2014, Super Typhoon Neoguri has been heavily affecting Japan. Neoguri developed from tropical storm into a super typhoon over the first week of July. Astronauts onboard the International Space Station and NASA’s Earth Observing System satellites, Terra and Aqua, have tracked Neoguri since it was 238 miles west of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite monitored Super Typhoon Neoguri on 5 July observing heavy rainfall. On that same day it became a typhoon, with maximum sustained winds at 132 mph, and Terra satellite captured an image of this phase. On 6 July, NASA's Aqua satellite captured this false-colored infrared image... read more

Japan has launched two Earth Observation satellites last week to monitor environmental damage near the damaged nuclear plants in Fukushima and Chernobyl, officials said.

The two satellites, Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4, have been developed by the University of Tokyo for around 300 million yen (about $2.9 million) each. They will take images of the two nuclear power plants and the surrounding environment to be combined with ground-based data including radiation levels.

"I hope that the data will help Japan and Ukraine correctly acknowledge the impact on the environment near the two plants," project leader Shinichi Nakasuka, from the University of Tokyo, said.

On 24 May 2014, the Japanese Space Agency JAXA successfully launched their new mapping satellite Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 “DAICHI-2” (ALOS-2). The satellite was launched onboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 24 (H-IIA F24) from Tanegashima Space Center. JAXA reported in a press release: "The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 15 minutes and 47 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the DAICHI-2 was confirmed."

ALOS-2 will be able to monitor scars left by natural disasters as well as progress made in reconstruction, JAXA said, according to Geospatial World. The new satellite will not only collect data related to deformation of the Earth's crust, but also the impact of floods and landslides.

JAXA broadcast the launch live; a recorded version of the webcast is now also... read more

Japan's next generation Earth Observation satellite ALOS-2 will be launched from Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center on 24 May 2014. It will be carried by the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 24.

ALOS-2 (Advanced Land Observation Satellite), is designed to support disaster monitoring for example by observing tsunamis and earthquakes. With its updated L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), called PALSAR-2, ALOS-2 be capable of observing day and night, and in all weather conditions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency points out: "The observation frequency of ALOS-2 will be improved by greatly expanding the observable range of the satellite up to about 3 times, through an improvement in observable areas (from 870km to 2,320km), as well as giving ALOS-2 a right-and-left looking function."

ALOS-2 will replace ALOS-1, which was launched in 2006 and provided relevant information regarding the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. ALOS-1, though still in... read more

ESA’s GOCE satellite revealed earlier this month that the great Japanese Earthquake from 2011 caused a tiny change in the local gravity. The satellite mapped Earth's gravity for four years and clearly shows a disturbance after 2011.

The strength of gravity is different on every point on the planet. It is GOCE’s task to map these differences. The value of gravity depends on the material and density of the rocks underneath the surface. Since earthquakes move those layers, they can also cause change in the local gravity. But the 2011 Earthquake was significant for one more reason – the epicenter was under the ocean, so the layers movement also caused a displacement of large water body, which also could have an effect on gravity.

The GOCE satellite accomplished its mission and is not in orbit any more. The information it gathered will be analyzed for years - concerning warm water movements in the oceans, atmospheric density and of course gravity. Surprisingly the... read more

On 26 August 2013, Ukraine and Japan agreed to launch a joint satellite project with the aim of monitoring the regions surrounding Chernobyl and Fukushima, sites of the world's greatest nuclear disasters. Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida declared that it will be a joint project of Tokyo University and the Ukrainian state space agency (host to a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office) with launches of Japanese-developed satellites by Ukrainian carrier rockets.

The catastrophes that had occured in Chernobyl and Fukushima in 1986 and 2011, respectively, are the world's only nuclear disasters categorised as level seven on the United Nations' seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). According to official figures, more than 25,000 of the cleanup workers from then-Soviet Ukraine, Russia and Belarus died since the disaster in Chernobyl in 1986, while... read more

The International Space Station (ISS) partner agencies released a common statement on 17 July 2013 underlining the benefits of the space station during disasters caused by natural hazards on Earth. The ISS partner agencies US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Russian Federal Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency stated "The ISS Partners are committed to continuing to share this unique asset in space and the benefits it brings to life on Earth."

The International Space Station (ISS) is a global research facility primary focused on Earth observation. "A unique complement of automated and crew-operated Earth observation assets are on board the ISS" the statement informs, "in addition, the orbit of the ISS provides a distinct perspective over Earth targets that augments polar-orbiting remote sensing spacecraft". Consequently, it is easy to imagine the numerous benefits that the ISS... read more

BBC reported on a new German study (Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences) that found that GPS satellite-based positioning could offer detailed information about Tsunami events within minutes of an earthquake occurring. The scientists believe that alerts improved by GPS data could have greatly improved early warnings of the 2011 Tsunami in Japan.

BBC reported: "Existing early warning systems use seismological data, measuring the waves of energy that are generated as the earth moves and shakes. But in the vital first stages of an earthquake, this is not always reliable. Now a team from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences says that satellite navigation technology could help. GPS sensors placed around the coastlines of vulnerable countries could make highly precise measurements of how underwater tremors shift the ground. Lead researcher Dr Andreas... read more

This will significantly enhance the crisis response and coordination activities of Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA): the AS365 N3 helicopter. Delivered by Eurocopter Japan, this is the world's first helicopter equipped with the Helicopter Satellite Communication System - a high-speed, real-time data transmission system, using Earth-orbiting relay satellites.

The HSA transmits data without being disturbed by the helicopter's moving rotor blades. It furthermore allows for perfect transmission even when mountains or tall buildings hamper line-of-site broadcasts, or when ground-based networks are interrupted.

The Eurocopter AS365 N3, equipped with HSA, will presumably be operational in early April of this year. Then it will support the organization's services in dispatching and coordinating rescue team responses to disaster situations.