The is the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese national

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

space agency Space is a three-dimensional In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), ...

. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s into

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

exploration and possible human

exploration of the Moon The physical exploration of the Moon began when ''Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a deliberate impact on the surface of the Moon on 14 September, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of lunar exploration had ...

. Its motto is ''One JAXA'' and its corporate slogan is ''Explore to Realize'' (formerly ''Reaching for the skies, exploring space'').

History

On 1 October 2003, three organizations were merged to form the new JAXA: Japan's

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Established as part of the University of Tokyo ...

(ISAS), the

National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan The National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), was established in July 1955. Originally known as the National Aeronautical Laboratory, it assumed its present name with the addition of the Aerospace Division in 1963. Since its establishment, it ...

(NAL), and

National Space Development Agency of Japan The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture ...

(NASDA). JAXA was formed as an

Independent Administrative Institution An , or Independent Administrative Institution, is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act no. 103 of 1999, revised in 2014). The independent age ...

administered by the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

(MEXT) and the

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a Cabinet (government), cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Centr ...

(MIC). Before the merger, ISAS was responsible for

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

and planetary research, while NAL was focused on aviation research. ISAS had been most successful in its space program in the field of

X-ray astronomy X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy which deals with the study of X-ray observation and detection from astronomical objects. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to ...

during the 1980s and 1990s. Another successful area for Japan has been

Very Long Baseline Interferometry Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...

(VLBI) with the

HALCA HALCA (Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communications and Astronomy), also known for its project name VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme), the code name MUSES-B (for the second of the Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft series), or just Haruka () ...

mission. Additional success was achieved with solar observation and research of the

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

, among other areas. NASDA, which was founded on 1 October 1969, had developed

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s, satellites, and also built the

Japanese Experiment Module Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. The old NASDA headquarters were located at the current site of the

Tanegashima Space Center The (TNSC) is Japan's primary spaceport, covering approximately about . It is located on the southeastern tip of Tanegashima, the easternmost of the Ōsumi Islands, approximately south of the major island of Kyushu. The site was selected on ...

, on Tanegashima Island, 115 kilometers south of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

. NASDA was mostly active in the field of communication satellite technology. However, since the satellite market of Japan is completely open, the first time a Japanese company won a contract for a civilian communication satellite was in 2005. Another prime focus of the NASDA body is Earth

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

observation. NASDA also trained the Japanese astronauts who flew with the US

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

s. The Basic Space Law was passed in 2008, and the jurisdictional authority of JAXA moved from MEXT to the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development (SHSD) in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, led by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. In 2016, the National Space Policy Secretariat (NSPS) was set up by the Cabinet. An overview of Japan's space activities
14 August 2018. JAXA was awarded the

Space Foundation The Space Foundation is an American nonprofit organization, the mission of which is to advocate for all sectors of the global space industry through space awareness activities, educational programs, and major industry events. It was founded in ...

's John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr., Award for Space Exploration in 2008. Planning interplanetary research missions can take many years. Due to the lag time between these interplanetary events and mission planning time, opportunities to gain new knowledge about the cosmos might be lost. To prevent this, JAXA began commencing smaller and faster missions from 2010 onward. In 2012, new legislation extended JAXA's remit from peaceful purposes only to include some military space development, such as missile early warning systems. Political control of JAXA passed from MEXT to the Prime Minister's

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

through a new Space Strategy Office.

Rockets

JAXA uses the

H-IIA H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbi ...

(H "two" A) rocket from the former NASDA body as a

medium-lift launch vehicle A medium-lift launch vehicle (MLV) is a rocket launch vehicle that is capable of lifting between by NASA classification or between by Russian classification of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).50t payloads" An MLV is between a small-lift ...

. JAXA has also developed a new medium-lift vehicle H3. For smaller launch needs, JAXA uses the

Epsilon Epsilon (, ; uppercase , lowercase or ; ) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel or . In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was derived from the Phoenic ...

rocket. For experiments in the upper atmosphere JAXA uses the SS-520, S-520, and S-310

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

s. Historical, nowadays retired, JAXA orbital rockets are as follows: Mu rocket family (

M-V The M-V rocket, also called M-5 or Mu-5, was a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It was a member of the Mu family of rockets. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) began developing the M-V i ...

) and

H-IIB H-IIB (H2B) was an expendable space launch system jointly developed by the Japanese government's space agency JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was used to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or ''Kōnotori'') cargo spacecraft for ...

Launch development

Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi, in 1970, using ISAS' L-4S rocket. Prior to the merger, ISAS used small Mu rocket family of solid-fueled launch vehicles, while NASDA developed larger liquid-fueled launchers. In the beginning, NASDA used licensed American models. The first model of liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed domestically in Japan was the

H-II The H-II (H2) rocket was a Japanese satellite launch system, which flew seven times between 1994 and 1999, with five successes. It was developed by NASDA in order to give Japan a capability to launch larger satellites in the 1990s. It was the fi ...

, introduced in 1994. NASDA developed the H-II with two goals in mind: to be able to launch satellites using only its own technology, such as the ISAS, and to dramatically improve its launch capability over previous licensed models. To achieve these two goals, a

staged combustion cycle The staged combustion cycle (sometimes known as topping cycle, preburner cycle, or closed cycle) is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine. In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers, and is th ...

was adopted for the first stage engine, the

LE-7 The LE-7 and its succeeding upgrade model the LE-7A are staged combustion cycle LH/LOX liquid rocket engines produced in Japan for the H-II series of launch vehicles. Design and production work was all done domestically in Japan, the first ma ...

. The combination of the

liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen () is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecule, molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point (thermodynamics), critical point of 33 Kelvins, ...

two-stage combustion cycle first stage engine and

solid rocket booster A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and Space Shuttle, have used SRBs to give laun ...

s was carried over to its successor, the H-IIA and H-IIB and became the basic configuration of Japan's liquid fuel launch vehicles for 30 years, from 1994 to 2024. In 2003, JAXA was formed by merging Japan's three space agencies to streamline Japan's space program, and JAXA took over operations of the

liquid-fueled launch vehicle, the

solid-fuel launch vehicle, and several observation rockets from each agency. The H-IIA is a launch vehicle that improved reliability while reducing costs by making significant improvements to the H-II, and the M-V was the world's largest solid-fuel launch vehicle at the time. In November 2003, JAXA's first launch after its inauguration, H-IIA No. 6, failed, but all other H-IIA launches were successful, and as of February 2024, the H-IIA had successfully launched 47 of its 48 launches. JAXA plans to end H-IIA operations with H-IIA Flight No. 50 and retire it by March 2025. JAXA operated the

, an upgraded version of the H-IIA, from September 2009 to May 2020 and successfully launched the

H-II Transfer Vehicle The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), also called , is an Expendable launch system, expendable Japanese Cargo spacecraft, automated cargo spacecraft designed for International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions, particularly the Kibo (ISS module ...

six times. This

cargo spacecraft Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control, or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous, in which the ...

was responsible for resupplying the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. To be able to launch smaller mission on JAXA developed a new solid-fueled rocket, the

as a replacement to the retired

. The maiden flight successfully happened in 2013. So far, the rocket has flown six times with one launch failure. In January 2017, JAXA attempted and failed to put a miniature satellite into orbit atop one of its SS520 series rockets. A second attempt on 2 February 2018 was successful, putting a four kilogram CubeSat into Earth orbit. The rocket, known as the SS-520-5, is the world's smallest orbital launcher. In 2023, JAXA began operating the H3, which will replace the H-IIA and H-IIIB; the H3 is a liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed from a completely new design like the H-II, rather than an improved development like the H-IIA and H-IIB, which were based on the H-II. The design goal of the H3 is to increase launch capability at a lower cost than the H-IIA and H-IIB. To achieve this, an expander bleed cycle was used for the first time in the world for the first stage of the engine.

Lunar and interplanetary missions

Japan's first missions beyond Earth orbit were the 1985

Halley's comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

observation spacecraft

Sakigake , known before launch as MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the US or the Soviet Union. It aimed to demonstrate the performan ...

(MS-T5) and

Suisei Suisei is Japanese for "comet" and the Japanese name for the planet Mercury. It may also stand for: *Hoshimachi Suisei, Japanese virtual YouTuber * Suisei (spacecraft) , originally known as Planet-A, was an uncrewed space probe developed by th ...

(PLANET-A). To prepare for future missions, ISAS tested Earth swing by orbits with the

Hiten Hiten may refer to: * Hiten (name), Indian given name * Hiten (spacecraft), Japanese lunar probe * Tennin, spiritual being in Japanese Buddhism See also *'' Hi-Ten Bomberman'', 1993 action-maze video game {{disambiguation ...

lunar mission in 1990. The first Japanese interplanetary mission was the Mars Orbiter Nozomi (PLANET-B), which was launched in 1998. It passed Mars in 2003, but failed to reach Mars orbit due to maneuvering systems failures earlier in the mission. Currently interplanetary missions remain at the ISAS group under the JAXA umbrella. However, for FY 2008 JAXA is planning to set up an independent working group within the organization. New head for this group will be

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

project manager Kawaguchi. Active Missions: PLANET-C,

IKAROS IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) experimental spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched on 20 May 2010, aboard an H-IIA rocket, together with the ''Akatsuki'' (V ...

, ''

Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese state space agency JAXA. It is a successor to the ''Hayabusa'' mission, which returned asteroid samples for the first time in June 2010. ''Hayabusa2'' was launched on 3 December 2 ...

'',

BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...

, SLIM
Under Development: MMX, DESTINY⁺
Retired: PLANET-B,

SELENE In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

MUSES-C was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C fo ...

, LEV-1, LEV-2
Cancelled:

LUNAR-A LUNAR-A was a cancelled Japanese spacecraft project that was originally scheduled to be launched in 1995, then delayed to August 2004. After many delays (primarily due to potential thruster faults), the project was eventually cancelled in Januar ...

Small body exploration: ''Hayabusa'' mission

On 9 May 2003, ''

'' (meaning

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

), was launched from an

rocket. The goal of the mission was to collect samples from a small

near-Earth asteroid A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit aro ...

named

25143 Itokawa 25143 Itokawa (provisional designation ) is a sub-kilometer near-Earth object of the Apollo group and also a potentially hazardous asteroid. It was discovered by the LINEAR program in 1998 and later named after Japanese rocket engineer Hideo ...

. The craft rendezvoused with the asteroid in September 2005. It was confirmed that the spacecraft successfully landed on the asteroid in November 2005, after some initial confusion regarding the incoming data. ''Hayabusa'' returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid on 13 June 2010. Hayabusa was the world's first spacecraft to return asteroid samples to Earth and the world's first spacecraft to make a round trip to a celestial body farther from Earth than the Moon.次に目指す高みとは…はやぶさ2が切り開いた宇宙開発の未来／下.

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

. 24 July 2022 Hayabusa2 was launched in 2014 and returned samples from asteroid

162173 Ryugu 162173 Ryugu ( provisional designation ) is a near-Earth object and also a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It measures approximately in diameter and is a dark object of the rare spectral type Cb, with qualities of both a ...

to Earth in 2020.

Lunar exploration

After

in 1990, JAXA planned a lunar penetrator mission called

but after delays due to technical problems, the project was terminated in January 2007. The seismometer penetrator design for LUNAR-A may be reused in a future mission. On 14 September 2007, JAXA succeeded in launching the lunar orbit explorer '' Kaguya'', also known as SELENE, on an

H-2A H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbi ...

rocket (costing 55 billion yen including launch vehicle), the largest such mission since the

Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

. Its mission was to gather data on the Moon's origin and evolution. It entered lunar orbit on 4 October 2007. After 1 year and 8 months, it impacted the lunar surface on 10 June 2009 at 18:25 UTC. JAXA launched its first lunar surface mission SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) in 2023. It successfully soft landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the 5th country to do so. The main goal of SLIM was to improve the accuracy of spacecraft landing on the Moon and to land a spacecraft within 100 meters of its target, which no spacecraft had achieved before. SLIM landed 55 meters from the target landing site, and JAXA announced that it was the world's first successful "pinpoint landing. Although it landed successfully, it landed with the solar panels oriented westwards, facing away from the Sun at the start of

lunar day A lunar day is the time it takes for Earth's Moon to complete on its axis one synodic rotation, meaning with respect to the Sun. Informally, a lunar day and a lunar night is each approximately 14 Earth days. The formal lunar day is therefore t ...

, thereby failing to generate enough power. The lander operated on internal battery power, which was fully drained that day. The mission's operators hope that the lander will wake up after a few days when sunlight should hit the solar panels. Two rovers, LEV 1 and 2, deployed during hovering just before final landing are working as expected with LEV-1 communicating independently to the ground stations. LEV-1 conducted seven hops over 107 minutes on the lunar surface. Images taken by LEV-2 show that it landed in the wrong attitude with loss of an engine nozzle during descent and even possible sustained damage to lander's Earth bound antenna which is not pointed towards Earth. The mission was considered fully successful after confirmation that its primary goal, landing within of the target was achieved, despite subsequent issues. On 29 January, the lander resumed operations after being shut down for a week. JAXA said it re-established contact with the lander and its solar cells were working again after a shift in lighting conditions allowed it to catch sunlight. After that, SLIM was put into sleep mode due to the approaching harsh lunar night where temperatures reach . SLIM was expected to operate only for one lunar daylight period, which lasts for 14 Earth days, and the on-board electronics were not designed to withstand the nighttime temperatures on the Moon. On 25 February 2024, JAXA sent wake-up calls and found SLIM had successfully survived the night on the lunar surface while maintaining communication capabilities. At that time it was solar noon on the Moon so the temperature of the communications equipment was extremely high, so communication was terminated after only a short period of time. JAXA is now preparing for resumed operations, once the temperature has fallen sufficiently. The feat of surviving lunar night without a

Radioisotope heater unit A radioisotope heater unit (RHU) is a small device that provides heat through radioactive decay. They are similar to tiny radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) and normally provide about one watt of heat each, derived from the decay of ...

had only been achieved by some landers in

Surveyor Program The Surveyor program was a NASA program that, from June 1966 through January 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of Soft landing (rocketry), soft landings on the Moo ...

Planetary exploration

Japan's planetary missions have so far been limited to the

inner Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sol ...

, and emphasis has been put on

magnetospheric In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

and atmospheric research. The

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

explorer Nozomi (PLANET-B), which ISAS launched prior to the merger of the three aerospace institutes, became one of the earliest difficulties the newly formed JAXA faced. Nozomi ultimately passed 1,000 km from the surface of Mars. On 20 May 2010, the

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

Climate Orbiter ''

Akatsuki may refer to: Places * Akatsuki Gakuenmae Station, is a passenger railway station located in the city of Yokkaichi People *, Japanese author in the I Novel genre *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese light novel author and manga writer Ships * ...

'' (PLANET-C) and

solar sail demonstrator was launched by a

launch vehicle. On 7 December 2010, Akatsuki was unable to complete its Venus orbit insertion maneuver. Akatsuki finally entered Venus orbit on 7 December 2015, making it the first Japanese spacecraft to orbit another planet, sixteen years after the originally planned orbital insertion of Nozomi. One of Akatsuki's main goal is to uncover the mechanism behind Venus atmosphere's super-rotation, a phenomenon in which the cloud top winds in the troposphere circulates around the planet faster than the speed that Venus itself rotates. A thorough explanation for this phenomenon has yet been found. JAXA/ISAS was part of the international

Laplace Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French polymath, a scholar whose work has been instrumental in the fields of physics, astronomy, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and philosophy. He summariz ...

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

mission proposal from its foundation. A Japanese contribution was sought in the form of an independent orbiter to research Jupiter's magnetosphere, JMO (Jupiter Magnetospheric Orbiter). Although JMO never left the conception phase, ISAS scientists will see their instruments reaching Jupiter on the ESA-led

JUICE Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

(Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) mission. JUICE is a reformulation of the ESA Ganymede orbiter from the Laplace project. JAXA's contribution includes providing components of the RPWI (Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation), PEP (Particle Environment Package), GALA (GAnymede Laser Altimeter) instruments. JAXA is reviewing a new spacecraft mission to the Martian system; a sample return mission to Phobos called MMX (Martian Moons Explorer). First revealed on 9 June 2015, MMX's primary goal is to determine the origin of the

Martian moons The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos (t ...

. Alongside collecting samples from Phobos, MMX will perform

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to: In general * Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology * Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites Fictional characters * Deimos (comi ...

, and may also observe the

atmosphere of Mars The atmosphere of Mars is the layer of gases surrounding Mars. It is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95%), molecular nitrogen (2.85%), and argon (2%). It also contains trace levels of water vapor, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and nob ...

as well. As of December 2023, MMX is to be launched in fiscal year 2026.

Solar sail research

On 9 August 2004, ISAS successfully deployed two prototype

solar sail Solar sails (also known as lightsails, light sails, and photon sails) are a method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. A number of spaceflight missions to test solar propulsion and navigati ...

s from a sounding rocket. A clover-type sail was deployed at 122 km altitude and a fan type sail was deployed at 169 km altitude. Both sails used 7.5

micrometer Micrometer can mean: * Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw * Micrometre The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights ...

-thick film. ISAS tested a solar sail again as a sub-payload to the

Akari AKARI (ASTRO-F) was an infrared astronomy satellite developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in cooperation with institutes of Europe and Korea. It was launched on 21 February 2006, at 21:28 UTC (06:28, 22 February JST) by M-V rocket ...

(ASTRO-F) mission on 22 February 2006. However the solar sail did not deploy fully. ISAS tested a solar sail again as a sub payload of the SOLAR-B launch at 23 September 2006, but contact with the probe was lost. The

solar sail was launched in May 2010 and successfully demonstrated solar sail technology in July. This made IKAROS the world's first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar sail technology in interplanetary space. The goal is to have a solar sail mission to Jupiter after 2020.

Astronomy program

The first Japanese astronomy mission was the X-ray satellite Hakucho (CORSA-b), which was launched in 1979. Later ISAS moved into solar observation, radio astronomy through space

VLBI Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...

and infrared astronomy. Active Missions: SOLAR-B, MAXI,

SPRINT-A Hisaki, also known as the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) was a Japanese ultraviolet astronomy satellite operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The first mission of t ...

, CALET,

XRISM The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM, pronounced 'crism' or 'krizz-em', as if the X was a chi), is an X-ray space telescope. It is a mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA and ESA, intend ...

Under Development:
Retired:

ASTRO-F AKARI (ASTRO-F) was an infrared astronomy space observatory, satellite developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in cooperation with institutes of Europe and Korea. It was launched on 21 February 2006, at 21:28 Coordinated Universal Tim ...

ASTRO-EII ''Suzaku'' (formerly ASTRO-EII) was an X-ray astronomy satellite developed jointly by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science at JAXA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to probe high-energy X-ray sources, such as Supernova, supern ...

, and ASTRO-H
Cancelled(C)/Failed(F):

ASTRO-E ''Suzaku'' (formerly ASTRO-EII) was an X-ray astronomy satellite developed jointly by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science at JAXA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to probe high-energy X-ray sources, such as supernova expl ...

(F), ASTRO-G (C),

Infrared astronomy

Japan's infrared astronomy began with the 15-cm IRTS telescope which was part of the SFU multipurpose satellite in 1995. ISAS also gave ground support for the

ESA The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European ...

Infrared Space Observatory The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was a space telescope for infrared light designed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), in cooperation with ISAS (now part of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA) and National Aeronautics and ...

(ISO) infrared mission. JAXA's first infrared astronomy satellite was the

spacecraft, with the pre-launch designation

. This satellite was launched on 21 February 2006. Its mission is

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

astronomy with a 68 cm telescope. This is the first all sky survey since the first infrared mission

IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a astronomical survey, survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 Janu ...

in 1983. (A 3.6 kg

nanosatellite A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites c ...

named CUTE-1.7 was also released from the same launch vehicle.) JAXA is also doing further R&D for increasing the performance of its mechanical coolers for its future infrared mission,

SPICA Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...

. This would enable a warm launch without liquid helium. SPICA has the same size as the ESA

Herschel Space Observatory The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telesco ...

mission, but is planned to have a temperature of just 4.5 K and will be much colder. Unlike Akari, which had a

geocentric orbit A geocentric orbit, Earth-centered orbit, or Earth orbit involves any object orbiting Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. In 1997, NASA estimated there were approximately 2,465 artificial satellite payloads orbiting Earth and 6,21 ...

, SPICA will be located at Sun–Earth . The launch is expected in 2027 or 2028 on JAXA's new

H3 Launch Vehicle The H3 rocket is a Japanese expendable launch system. H3 launch vehicles are liquid-propellant rockets with strap-on solid rocket boosters and are launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and JAXA are r ...

, however the mission is not yet fully funded. ESA and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

may also each contribute an instrument. The SPICA mission was cancelled in 2020.

X-ray astronomy

Starting from 1979 with

Hakucho Hakucho (also known as CORSA-b before launch; CORSA stands for Cosmic Radiation Satellite) was Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, developed by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science (then a division of the University of Tokyo ...

(CORSA-b), for nearly two decades Japan had achieved continuous observation. However, in the year 2000 the launch of ISAS's X-ray observation satellite,

failed (as it failed at launch it never received a proper name). Then on 10 July 2005, JAXA was finally able to launch a new

mission named Suzaku (ASTRO-EII). This launch was important for JAXA, because in the five years since the launch failure of the original ASTRO-E satellite, Japan was without an

x-ray telescope An X-ray telescope (XRT) is a telescope that is designed to observe remote objects in the X-ray spectrum. X-rays are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets ...

. Three instruments were included in this satellite: an

X-ray spectrometer X-ray spectroscopy is a general term for several spectroscopic techniques for characterization of materials by using x-ray radiation. Characteristic X-ray spectroscopy When an electron from the inner shell of an atom is excited by the energy ...

(XRS), an X-ray imaging spectrometer (XIS), and a

hard X-ray detector Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV ...

(HXD). However, the XRS was rendered inoperable due to a malfunction which caused the satellite to lose its supply of liquid helium. The next JAXA x-ray mission is the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). MAXI continuously monitors astronomical X-ray objects over a broad energy band (0.5 to 30 keV). MAXI is installed on the Japanese external module of the ISS. On 17 February 2016, Hitomi (ASTRO-H) was launched as the successor to Suzaku, which completed its mission a year before.

Solar observation

Japan's solar astronomy started in the early 1980s with the launch of the '' Hinotori'' (ASTRO-A) X-ray mission. The Hinode (SOLAR-B) spacecraft, the follow-on to the joint Japan/US/UK

Yohkoh Yohkoh (, 'Sunbeam'), known before launch as Solar-A, was a Solar observatory spacecraft of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan), in collaboration with space agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was l ...

(SOLAR-A) spacecraft, was launched on 23 September 2006 by JAXA. A SOLAR-C can be expected sometime after 2020. However no details are worked out yet other than it will not be launched with the former ISAS's Mu rockets. Instead a H-2A from Tanegashima could launch it. As H-2A is more powerful, SOLAR-C could either be heavier or be stationed at (

Lagrange point In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the gravitational influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves t ...

1).

Radio astronomy

In 1997, Japan launched the

(MUSES-B) mission, the world's first spacecraft dedicated to conduct space VLBI observations of pulsars, among others. To do so, ISAS set up a ground network around the world through international cooperation. The observation part of the mission lasted until 2003 and the satellite was retired at the end of 2005. In FY 2006, Japan funded the ASTRO-G as the succeeding mission. ASTRO-G was canceled in 2011.

Communication, positioning and technology tests

One of the primary duties of the former NASDA body was the testing of new space technologies, mostly in the field of communication. The first test satellite was ETS-I, launched in 1975. However, during the 1990s, NASDA was afflicted by problems surrounding the ETS-VI and COMETS missions. In February 2018, JAXA announced a research collaboration with

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

to test a laser communication system from the Kibo module in late 2018. In January 2025, it was reported that JAXA is collaborating with

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

and O-Well Corporation to test a riblet-shaped coating on the airline's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that would reduce

aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...

and improve

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...

. The coating is capable of reducing drag by 0.24%, leading to the savings of 119 tons of fuel and 381 tons of CO₂ emissions per plane per annum. Testing of communication technologies remains to be one of JAXA's key duties in cooperation with

NICT The is Japan's primary national research institute for information and communications. It is located in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. NICT was established as an Independent Administrative Institution in 2004 when Japan's Communications Research Labo ...

. Active Missions:

INDEX Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...

, QZS-1,

SLATS Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) or Tsubame was a JAXA satellite intended to demonstrate operations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO, below 200 km), using ion engines to counteract aerodynamic drag (physics), drag from the atmosphere ...

, QZS-2, QZS-3, QZS-4, QZS-1R
Under Development: ETS-IX
Retired:

OICETS The Optical Inter-orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite (OICETS), also called ''Kirari'', was an experimental satellite launched by JAXA to demonstrate interorbital communication between satellites through optical (laser) means. OICETS ...

, ETS-VIII,

WINDS Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

i-Space : ETS-VIII, WINDS and QZS-1

To upgrade Japan's communication technology the Japanese state launched the i-Space initiative with the ETS-VIII and WINDS missions. ETS-VIII was launched on 18 December 2006. The purpose of ETS-VIII is to test communication equipment with two very large antennas and an atomic clock test. On 26 December both antennas were successfully deployed. This was not unexpected, since JAXA tested the deployment mechanism before with the LDREX-2 Mission, which was launched on 14 October with the European Ariane 5. The test was successful. On 23 February 2008, JAXA launched the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (

), also called "KIZUNA". WINDS aimed to facilitate experiments with faster satellite Internet connections. The launch, using

launch vehicle 14, took place from

. WINDS was decommissioned on 27 February 2019. On 11 September 2010, JAXA launched QZS-1 (Michibiki-1), the first satellite of the Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), a subsystem of the global positioning system (GPS). Three more followed in 2017, and a replacement for QZS-1 is scheduled to launch in late 2021. A next-generation set of three satellites, able to operate independent of GPS, is scheduled to begin launching in 2023.

OICETS and INDEX

On 24 August 2005, JAXA launched the experimental satellites

and

on a Ukrainian

Dnepr rocket The Dnepr rocket (; ) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, ...

. OICETS (Kirari) is a mission tasked with testing optical links with the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA)

ARTEMIS In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

satellite, which is around 40,000 km away from OICETS. The experiment was successful on 9 December, when the link could be established. In March 2006, JAXA could establish with OICETS the worldwide first optical links between a LEO satellite and a ground station first in Japan and in June 2006 with a mobile station in Germany. INDEX (Reimei) is a small 70 kg satellite for testing various equipment, and functions as an

aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

observation mission as well. The Reimei satellite is currently in its extended mission phase.

Earth observation program

Japan's first Earth observation satellites were MOS-1a and MOS-1b launched in 1987 and 1990. During the 1990s, and the new millennium this NASDA program came under heavy fire, because both Adeos (Midori) and Adeos 2 (Midori 2) satellites failed after just ten months in orbit. Active Missions:

GOSAT Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), also known as , is an Earth observation satellite and the world's first satellite dedicated to greenhouse gas monitoring. It measures the densities of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations o ...

GCOM-W GCOM (Global Change Observation Mission), is a JAXA project of long-term observation of Earth environmental changes. As a part of Japan's contributions to GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), GCOM will be continued for 10 to 15 year ...

ALOS-2 Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2), also called Daichi-2, is a Japanese satellite launched in 2014. Although the predecessor ALOS satellite had featured 2 optical cameras in addition to L-band (1.2 GHz/25 cm) radar, ALOS-2 had o ...

GCOM-C GCOM (Global Change Observation Mission), is a JAXA project of long-term observation of Earth environmental changes. As a part of Japan's contributions to GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), GCOM will be continued for 10 to 15 year ...

, GOSAT-2
Retired/Failed (R/F):

ALOS Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), was a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, b ...

(R), ALOS-3 (F)

ALOS

In January 2006, JAXA successfully launched the

Advanced Land Observation Satellite Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also called Daichi (a Japanese word meaning "land"), was a 3810 kg Japanese satellite launched in 2006. After five years of service, the satellite lost power and ceased communication with Earth, b ...

(ALOS/Daichi). Communication between ALOS and the ground station in Japan will be done through the Kodama Data Relay Satellite, which was launched during 2002. This project is under intense pressure due to the shorter than expected lifetime of the ADEOS II (Midori) Earth Observation Mission. For missions following Daichi, JAXA opted to separate it into a radar satellite (

) and an optical satellite, ( ALOS-3). ALOS 2 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite was launched in May 2014. The ALOS-3 satellite was aboard a H3 rocket in March 2023, but the satellite was lost in a launch failure when the second stage failed to ignite. ALOS-4, 2's SAR successor, was launched successfully in July 2024. A true successor to ALOS-3 is planned to launch around 2027.

Rainfall observation

Since Japan is an island nation and gets struck by typhoons every year, research about the dynamics of the atmosphere is a very important issue. For this reason Japan launched in 1997 the

TRMM The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) was a joint space mission between NASA and JAXA designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. The term refers to both the mission itself and the satellite that the mission used to collect data. ...

(Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite in cooperation with NASA, to observe the tropical rainfall seasons. For further research NASDA had launched the ADEOS and ADEOS II missions in 1996 and 2003. However, due to various reasons, both satellites had a much shorter than expected life term. On 28 February 2014, a H-2A rocket launched the GPM Core Observatory, a satellite jointly developed by JAXA and NASA. The GPM mission is the successor to the TRMM mission, which by the time of the GPM launch had been noted as highly successful. JAXA provided the

Global Precipitation Measurement Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is a joint satellite mission between JAXA and NASA as well as other international space agencies to make frequent (every 2–3 hours) observations of Earth's precipitation from orbit. It is part of NASA's E ...

/Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM/DPR) Instrument for this mission. Global Precipitation Measurement itself is a satellite constellation, whilst the GPM Core Observatory provides a new calibration standard for other satellites in the constellation. Other countries/agencies like France, India, ESA, etc. provides the sub-satellites. The aim of GPM is to measure global rainfall with unprecedented detail.

Monitoring of carbon dioxide

At the end of the 2008 fiscal year, JAXA launched the satellite

(Greenhouse Gas Observing SATellite) to help scientists determine and monitor the density distribution of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

in the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. The satellite is being jointly developed by JAXA and Japan's Ministry of the Environment. JAXA is building the satellite while the Ministry is in charge of the data that will be collected. Since the number of ground-based carbon dioxide observatories cannot monitor enough of the world's atmosphere and are distributed unevenly throughout the globe, the GOSAT may be able to gather more accurate data and fill in the gaps on the globe where there are no observatories on the ground. Sensors for

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

and other

greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

ses are also being considered for the satellite, although the plans are not yet finalized. The satellite weighs approximately 1650 kg and is expected to have a life span of five years. The successor satellite GOSAT 2 was launched in October 2018.

GCOM series

The next funded Earth-observation mission after GOSAT is the GCOM ( Global Change Observation Mission) Earth-observation program as a successor to ADEOS II (Midori) and the

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...

mission. To reduce the risk and for a longer observation time the mission will be split into smaller satellites. Altogether GCOM will be a series of six satellites. The first satellite,

(Shizuku), was launched on 17 May 2012 with the H-IIA. The second satellite,

(Shikisai), was launched in 2017.

Satellites for other agencies

For weather observation Japan launched in February 2005 the Multi-Functional Transport Satellite 1R ( MTSAT-1R). The success of this launch was critical for Japan, since the original MTSAT-1 could not be put into orbit because of a launch failure with the H-2 rocket in 1999. Since then Japan relied for weather forecasting on an old satellite which was already beyond its useful life term and on American systems. On 18 February 2006, JAXA, as head of the H-IIA at this time, successfully launched the MTSAT-2 aboard a H-2A rocket. MTSAT-2 is the backup to the MTSAT-1R. The MTSAT-2 uses the

DS2000 The DS2000 is a geostationary communications satellite bus designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric of Japan. Designed to carry payloads between and , with power requirements of up to 15 kW. It is compatible with Ariane 5, Proton-M, ...

satellite bus developed by Mitsubishi Electric. The DS2000 is also used for the DRTS Kodama, ETS-VIII and the Superbird 7 communication satellite, making it the first commercial success for Japan. As a secondary mission both the MTSAT-1R and MTSAT-2 help to direct air traffic.

Other JAXA satellites currently in use

* GEOTAIL magnetosphere observation satellite (since 1992) * DRTS (Kodama) Data Relay Satellite, since 2002. (Projected Life Span is seven years) Ongoing joint missions with NASA are the

Earth Observation Satellite, and the

(GPM) Core satellite.JAXA also provided the Light Particle Telescope (LPT) for the 2008 Jason 2 satellite by the French

CNES CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...

. On 11 May 2018, JAXA deployed the first satellite developed in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

from the

of the International Space Station. The satellite, 1KUNS-PF, was created by the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

Completed missions

* ASTRO-H X-Ray Astronomy Mission 2016 (failed) *

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) was a joint space mission between NASA and JAXA designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. The term refers to both the mission itself and the satellite that the mission used to collect data. ...

(TRMM) 1997–2015 (decommissioned) * Akebono Aurora Observation 1989–2015 (decommissioned) * Suzaku X-Ray Astronomy 2005–2015 (decommissioned) *

Earth Observation 2006–2011 (decommissioned) *

Infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the astronomical observation, observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 microm ...

mission 2006–2011 (decommissioned) *

Asteroid sample return mission 2003–2010 (decommissioned) *

, Technology Demonstration 2005–2009 (decommissioned) *

, Moon probe 2007–2009 (decommissioned) * Micro Lab Sat 1, Small engineering mission, launched 2002 (decommissioned) *

, Space VLBI 1997–2005 (decommissioned) * Nozomi,

Mission 1998–2003 (failed) * MDS-1, Technology Demonstration 2002–2003 (decommissioned) * ADEOS 2 (Midori 2) Earth Observation 2002–2003 (lost)

Future missions

Launch schedule

FY 2024

* ALOS-4 * GOSAT-GW * QZS-5 *

Nano-JASMINE The Nano-Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for Infrared Exploration (Nano-JASMINE) is an astrometric microsatellite developed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, with contributions by the University of Tokyo's Intelligent Spac ...

(uncertain)

FY 2025

* ETS-IX *

HTV-X1 HTV-X1 is the first flight and the technical demonstration mission of HTV-X, an uncrewed expendable cargo spacecraft. , it is intended to be launched in 2025 to resupply the International Space Station The International Space Station (I ...

* Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 * QZS-6 * QZS-7

FY 2026

HTV-X2 , tentatively called HTV-X, is an expendable Japanese cargo spacecraft under development by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to be used for International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions, as the successor of H-II Transfer Vehicle ...

HTV-X3 , tentatively called HTV-X, is an expendable Japanese cargo spacecraft under development by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to be used for International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions, as the successor of H-II Transfer Vehicle ...

* MMX: Remote sensing of

, sample return from Phobos

FY 2027

* Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-5

FY 2028

* DESTINY⁺: Small-scale technology demonstrator which will also conduct scientific observations of asteroid

3200 Phaethon 3200 Phaethon (; previously sometimes spelled Phæton), provisionally designated , is an active Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid (though there are numerous unnamed asteroids with sm ...

JASMINE Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

: an astrometric telescope similar to the ''

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

'' mission but operating in the infrared (2.2 μm) and specifically targeting the Galactic plane and center, where ''Gaia''s results are impaired by dust absorption. * LUPEX: joint lunar lander and rover with

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister o ...

* SOLAR-C EUVST

FY 2029

Comet Interceptor The ''Comet Interceptor'' is a robotic spacecraft mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA) planned for launch in 2029. The spacecraft will be "parked" at the Lagrangian point, Sun-Earth L2 point and wait for up to three years for a long-p ...

(ESA led mission, Japan provides one of the secondary spacecraft) * Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-6

FY 2031

* Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-7

FY 2032

LiteBIRD ''LiteBIRD'' (Lite (Light) satellite for the studies of B-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection) is a planned small space observatory that aims to detect the footprint of the primordial gravitational wave on t ...

: a mission to study CMB B-mode polarization and

cosmic inflation In physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation, or just inflation, is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the very early universe. Following the inflationary period, the universe continued to expand, but at a slower ...

based at the Sun–Earth Lagrangian point

Other missions

For the 2023

EarthCARE EarthCARE (derived from ''Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer''), nicknamed Hakuryū (Japanese for "white dragon"), is a joint European/Japanese ( ESA / JAXA / NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA's Earth Explorer Programme. The main goal ...

mission with

, JAXA will provide the radar system on the satellite. JAXA will provide the Auroral Electron Sensor (AES) for the Taiwanese FORMOSAT-5. *

XEUS XEUS (X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy) was a space observatory plan developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a successor to the successful XMM-Newton X-ray satellite telescope. It was merged to the International X-ray Observatory ...

: joint X-Ray telescope with ESA, originally planned for launch after 2015. Cancelled and replaced by

ATHENA Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

Proposals

* Human Lunar Systems, conceptual system study on the future human lunar outpost *

OKEANOS In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods and the Oceanids, as well as being the great river which encircled the entir ...

, a mission to

and Trojan asteroids utilizing "hybrid propulsion" of

and

ion engine An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions ...

s *

, a 2.5 meter infrared telescope to be placed at L2 *

FORCE In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

, small-scale hard x-ray observation with high sensitivity *

DIOS Dios may refer to: * ''Dios'', Spanish for God * Dios, an ancient Greek name, latinized Dius * ''Dios'', a character in the anime/manga series Revolutionary Girl Utena * Desorption ionization on silicon, an ionization technique in mass spectromet ...

, small-scale x-ray observation mission to survey

warm–hot intergalactic medium The warm–hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) is the sparse, warm-to-hot (105 to 107 K) plasma that cosmologists believe to exist in the spaces between galaxies and to contain 40–50% of the baryonic 'normal matter' in the universe at the cu ...

* APPROACH, small-scale lunar penetrator mission * HiZ-GUNDAM, small-scale

gamma ray burst In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events occurring in distant galaxies which represent the brightest and most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These extreme electromagnetic emissions are second ...

observation mission * B-DECIGO, gravity wave observation test mission * Hayabusa Mk2/Marco Polo * Space Solar Power System (SSPS),

space-based solar power Space-based solar power (SBSP or SSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space with solar power satellites (SPS) and distributing it to Earth. Its advantages include a higher collection of energy due to the lack of reflection ...

prototype launch in 2020, aiming for a full-power system in 2030

Human spaceflight program

Japan has ten astronauts but has not yet developed its own crewed spacecraft and is not currently developing one officially. A potentially crewed

spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...

HOPE-X HOPE (H-II Orbiting Plane) was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s. It was positioned for most of its lifetime as one of the main Japanese cont ...

project launched by the conventional space launcher

was developed for several years (including test flights of

HYFLEX HYFLEX (Hypersonic Flight Experiment) was a National Space Development Agency of Japan reentry demonstrator prototype which was launched in 1996 on the only flight of the J-I launcher. It was a successor of OREX and was a precursor for the Ja ...

OREX OREX (Orbital Re-entry Experiment) was a NASDA re-entry demonstrator prototype which was launched in 1994 on the H-II launcher; the satellite was renamed . It was a precursor for the Japanese space shuttle HOPE Hope is an optimistic state of ...

prototypes) but was postponed. The simpler crewed capsule Fuji was proposed but not adopted. Projects for

single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term usually, but not exclusively refers to reusable launch sys ...

, horizontal takeoff

reusable launch vehicle A reusable launch vehicle has parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as fairings, booster ...

and landing ASSTS and the

vertical takeoff and landing A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wing ...

Kankoh-maru The is a proposed vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL), single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO), reusable launch system (rocket-powered spacecraft). According to a document from July 1997, it would have been manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mi ...

also exist but have not been adopted. The first Japanese citizen to fly in space was

Toyohiro Akiyama is a retired Japanese TV journalist and professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. In December 1990, he spent seven days aboard the Mir space station. He became the first person of Japanese people, Japanese nationality to fly in space, ...

, a journalist sponsored by TBS, who flew on the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Soyuz TM-11 Soyuz TM-11 was the eleventh expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir, using a Soyuz-TM crew transport vessel. The mission notably carried a Japanese television reporter from Tokyo Broadcasting System.The mission report is available here: htt ...

in December 1990. He spent more than seven days in space on the

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

space station, in what the Soviets called their first commercial spaceflight which allowed them to earn $14 million. Japan participates in US and international crewed space programs including flights of Japanese astronauts on Russian

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...

spacecraft to the

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), ...

. One Space Shuttle mission (

STS-47 STS-47 was NASA's 50th Space Shuttle mission of the Space Shuttle program, program, as well as the second mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and mater ...

) in September 1992 was partially funded by Japan. This flight included JAXA's first astronaut in space,

Mamoru Mohri Mamoru "Mark" Mohri, (; born 29 January 1948) is a Japanese scientist, a former NASDA astronaut, and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. He is the first Japanese astronaut who was part of an official Japanese space program. The fir ...

, as the Payload Specialist for the Spacelab-J, one of the European built

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...

modules. This mission was also designated ''Japan''. Kibo completed view1

Three other NASA Space Shuttle missions (

STS-123 STS-123 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. STS-123 was the 1J/A Assembly of the International Space Station, ISS assembly mission. The orig ...

STS-124 STS-124 was the 35th mission of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It went to the International Space Station on this mission. ''Discovery'' launched on May 31, 2008, at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of May 25, 2008, and land ...

STS-127 STS-127 (Assembly of the International Space Station, ISS assembly flight 2J/A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was the twenty-third flight of . The primary purpose of the STS-127 mission was to deliv ...

) in 2008–2009 delivered parts of the Japanese built spacelab-module '' Kibō'' to ISS. Japanese plans for a crewed lunar landing were in development but were shelved in early 2010 due to budget constraints. In June 2014, Japan's science and technology ministry said it was considering a space mission to

. In a ministry paper it indicated uncrewed exploration, crewed missions to Mars and long-term settlement on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

were objectives, for which international cooperation and support was going to be sought. On 18 October 2017, JAXA discovered a "tunnel"-like

lava tube A lava tube, more rarely called a pyroduct, is a 'roofed conduit through which molten lava travels away from its vent'. If lava in the tube drains out, it will leave an empty cave. Lava tubes are common in low-viscosity volcanic systems. La ...

under the surface of the Moon . The tunnel appears to be suitable as a location for a base of operations for peaceful crewed space missions, according to JAXA.

Supersonic aircraft development

Besides the H-IIA/B and

rockets, JAXA is also developing technology for a next-generation

supersonic transport The ogive.html" ;"title="Concorde supersonic transport had an ogive">ogival delta wing, a slender fuselage and four underslung Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines. file:Tu-144.jpg, The Tupolev Tu-144 was the first SST to enter service and th ...

that could become the commercial replacement for the

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

. The design goal of the project (working name Next Generation Supersonic Transport) is to develop a jet that can carry 300 passengers at

Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...

2. A subscale model of the jet underwent aerodynamic testing in September and October 2005 in Australia. In 2015, JAXA performed tests aimed at reducing the effects of supersonic flight under the D-SEND program. The economic success of such a project is still unclear, and as a consequence the project has been met with limited interest from Japanese aerospace companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries so far.

Reusable launch vehicles

Until 2003, JAXA (

ISAS , or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Established as part of the University of Tokyo ...

) conducted research on a reusable launch vehicle under the Reusable Vehicle Testing (RVT) project.

Organization

JAXA is composed of the following organizations: * Space Technology Directorate I * Space Technology Directorate II * Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate * Research and Development Directorate * Aeronautical Technology Directorate * Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) * Space Exploration Innovation Hub Center (TansaX) JAXA has research centers in many locations in Japan, and some offices overseas. Its headquarters are in

Chōfu is a Cities of Japan, city in the western side of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km2. the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. It also has * Earth Observation Research Center (EORC), Tokyo *

Earth Observation Center The Earth Observation Center is a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aeronautical research facility located in Hatoyama, Saitama, Japan. It utilizes remote sensing technologies such as satellites to study Earth's environment from outer ...

(EOC) in Hatoyama, Saitama * Noshiro Testing Center (NTC) in Noshiro, Akita – Established in 1962. It carries out development and testing of rocket engines. * Sanriku Balloon Center (SBC) – Balloons have been launched from this site since 1971. * Kakuda Space Center (KSPC) in Kakuda, Miyagi – Leads the development of rocket engines. Works mainly with development of liquid-fuel engines. * Sagamihara Campus (ISAS) in

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

– Development of experimental equipment for rockets and satellites. Also administrative buildings. *

Tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New Tanegashima Airp ...

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

– currently the launch site for the

and H3 rockets. *

Tsukuba Space Center The Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC) also known by its radio Call sign, callsign Tsukuba, is the operations facility and headquarters for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) located in Tsukuba Science City in Ibaraki Prefecture. The facil ...

(TKSC) in

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

, Ibaraki. This is the center of Japan's space network. It is involved in research and development of satellites and rockets, and tracking and controlling of satellites. It develops experimental equipment for the Japanese Experiment Module ("Kibo"). Training of astronauts also takes place here. For

operations, the Japanese Flight Control Team is located at the Space Station Integration & Promotion Center (SSIPC) in Tsukuba. SSIPC communicates regularly with ISS crewmembers via S-band audio. *

Uchinoura Space Center The is a space launch facility in the Japanese town of Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. Before the establishment of the JAXA space agency in 2003, it was simply called the (KSC). All of Japan's scientific satellites were launched from Uchino ...

Kimotsuki file:Kimotsuki Town Office Kagoshima 200809.jpg, 270px, Kimotsuki Town Hall file:Kimotsuki River Kimotsuki Hami 01.JPG, 270px, Kimotsuki River file:Koyama Yabusame 2011.JPG, 270px, ''Yabusame'' in Kimitsuki is a List of towns in Japan, town in Kim ...

– currently the launch site for the Epsilon rocket.

Communication ground stations for interplanetary spacecraft

Usuda Deep Space Center is a facility of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It is a spacecraft tracking station in Saku, Nagano (formerly in Usuda, Nagano; Usuda merged into Saku in 2005), opened in October, 1984. The main features of the station are two large be ...

(UDSC) is a spacecraft tracking station in

Saku, Nagano is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,454 in 41,522 households, and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Saku is located ...

(originally in

Usuda, Nagano was a town located in Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is the farthest point in the country away from the sea, although the nearby town of Saku claims to hold this distinction as well. As of 2003, the town has an estimated po ...

; Usuda merged into Saku in 2005), the first deep-space antenna constructed with beam-waveguide technology, and for many years, Japan's only ground station for communication with interplanetary spacecraft in deep space. Opening in 1984, the 64 meter antenna, built by

Mitsubishi Electric is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing d ...

, primarily operated in the X- and S-band frequencies. Upon completion in 2021, MDSS succeeded UDSC as the primary antenna for JAXA's Deep Space Network. *

Misasa Deep Space Station is a facility of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It is a spacecraft tracking station in Saku, Nagano (formerly in Usuda, Nagano; Usuda merged into Saku in 2005), opened in October, 1984. The main features of the station are two large be ...

(MDSS), also in

(and just over one kilometer northwest from UDSC), also known as GREAT (Ground Station for Deep Space Exploration and Telecommunication) was completed in 2021 at a cost of over ten billion Yen. It is equipped with a 54 meter dish, also built by

, communicating with spacecraft in the X- and Ka-band frequencies. Phase 2 (GREAT2) to improve performance and reliability, in support of future projects, over the previous phase is now in progress. * Other tracking stations in Okinawa, Masuda, and Katsuura are for satellite tracking and control. Collaborating with other space agencies: Previously, JAXA has worked closely with other space agencies in support of their respective deep space projects. Notably, in 2015 NASA's

Deep Space Network The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide Telecommunications network, network of spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA' ...

provided communication and tracking services to the

Venus probe through its 34 meter antennas. In October 2021, JAXA provided NASA with data it had received at Misasa from

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

during its flyby of

's moon

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliffs, Alexan ...

. As part of on-going joint support of deep space missions JAXA, ESA, and NASA are engaged in an effort to improve the X/Ka celestial reference frame as well as a unified X/Ka terrestrial frame to be shared by the three agencies. The 54 meter dish at MDSS enhances X/Ka sensitivity from having an aperture area two and a half times larger than the equivalent antennas in the NASA and ESA network. MDSS improves the network geometry with the first direct north-south baseline (Japan-Australia) in the X/Ka VLBI network, thereby providing four new baselines which will provide optimal geometry for improving declinations.X/Ka (8.4/32 GHz) Celestial Frame: Roadmap to the future
/ref>

References

External links

JAXA
* * ** by JAXA ** by JAXA
International Space Station (ISS) and "Kibo" Information center

"JAXA 2025" Presentation

Report on Japan's Space Program, 2005
by

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

Report on US-Japan Space Policy Cooperation, 2003
by the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

(CSIS)
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT)

Japan's Evolving Space Program
by the

National Bureau of Asian Research The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is an American non-profit research institution based in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office in Washington, D.C. NBR brings together specialists, policymakers, and business leaders to examine e ...

Archived sites of the JAXA predecessor agencies:
NASDA

ISAS

{{Authority control * 2003 establishments in Japan Government agencies established in 2003 Independent Administrative Institutions of Japan Space agencies