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Posts Tagged ‘JAXA’

JAXA announce the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator “IKAROS” has reached a successful acceleration of  a  photon (*1)  after its sail deployment. IKAROS was launched by JAXA on May 21, 2010 (JST) .  The thrust by solar light pressure is 1.12 mili-Newton (*2,) which is the expected value.  JAXA has announced, “the IKAROS was proved to generate the biggest acceleration through photon during interplanetary flight in history.”

Read more in the JAXA Press Release.

Satellite images are also pieces of art and we can all enjoy both the aesthetics and at the same time use it for the benefit of our society through services provided by the space agencies:

JAXA(Japan): http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/index.html

ESA (Europe): http://earth.esa.int/satelliteimages/

NASA (USA): http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

 

The committee of Earth Observation from Space http://www.ceos.org/ are contributing to The Group of Earth Observation http://www.earthobservations.org/ that work on integrating both space based earth observations and in-situ observations so that we get the best possible understanding of our home planet.”

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is scheduled to launch the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI” (PLANET-C) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle in Japan Fiscal Year 2010. The AKATSUKI will enter the orbit of Venus about half a year after its launch, and will take some two years to explore the atmosphere of Venus.

JAXA would like to enhance people’s interest in space and the Earth by holding a “message campaign” in which we invite people to send us messages that will be printed in fine letters on an aluminum plate and placed aboard the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI”. We will accept messages both from Japan and overseas so that we can bind the feelings and thoughts of everybody in the world into one, and inject it into the orbit of Venus. Through this campaign, we would like to boost the public’s knowledge about Japanese space science research activities in Japan as well as abroad.

With the cooperation of the “International Year of Astronomy 2009 Japan Committee,” we would like to carry out the “message campaign”

to collect messages to be attached to the Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI” as follows.

 

1. Campaign name

   “We will deliver your message to the bright star Venus”

   - “AKATSUKI” Message Campaign –

 

2. Message accepted

   From October 23, 2009 thru December 25, 2009 (Japan Standard Time)

 

3. How to send your message

   [For individual senders]

   Through the Internet

   Japanese site: http://www.jaxa.jp/event/akatsuki/index_j.html

   English site: http://www.jaxa.jp/event/akatsuki/index_e.html

 

 - You can send a message in Japanese characters (Hiragana, Kanji,

   and Katakana) as well as using numbers and/or Roman letters.

   However, some letters (such as half-sized Katakana) or some PC

   specific letters may not be properly encoded on our side. Therefore,

   if you use such letters, they may not be printed as you intend.

 - Only a name (without a message) is also acceptable.

 - The International Year of Astronomy 2009 Japan Committee will be in

   charge of accepting names and messages sent through the Internet,

   counting them, and protecting your private information.

 - Your message and illustration may be used on our Web site, leaflet,

   and/or magazines for the purpose of public affairs and promotion.

   Copyright of the messages and illustrations basically belong to JAXA.

 

   [Sending a message as a group]

   Those who are a group of over 100 members in Japan (such as a

   school, kindergarten, company, residents’ association, hobby’s

   club, science museum, or event organization team) can send a

   message via conventional postal mail. Please write your message as

   large and clearly as possible within a limited paper size (A4). We

   can accept an illustration, but please remember that everything

   will be carved in black and white. Send your group name and a

   message on an A4 size paper (if your paper size is different,

   please make a contraction /enlargement copy to make it size A4)

   and write the following on the backside of the paper: the number

   of people in your group (over 100 people is the norm), the address,

   name, age, gender, telephone no, e-mail address of a

   representative of a group. (If no e-mail address is available,

   please send a postcard for a reply with your address and name and a

   50-yen stamp on the front side). Send your message (and a reply

   postcard, if necessary) to the following address.

 

   JAXA ISAS “AKATSUKI” Campaign Office

   3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 229-8510

 

 - We will e-mail you (or send a reply postcard back in the case you

   send it to us) to let you know that we will have received your

   message.

 - We will not send you back your message. Your message and

   illustration may be used on our Web site, leaflet, and/or

   magazines for the purpose of public affairs and promotion. (Please

   refrain from sending any information, messages and/or illustrations

   that you do not want us to publish, such as personal information.)

   Copyright of the messages and illustrations basically belong to

   JAXA.

 - Please be aware that messages will be scaled down by a large

   percentage when they are printed on an aluminum plate.

 - JAXA (ISAS) will be in charge of accepting names and messages,

   counting them, and protecting your private information.

 

For inquiries about this campaign

 JAXA “AKATSUKI” Campaign Office

 Tel. 042-759-8646 (or +81-42-759-8646)

 

Reference

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/10/20091023_akatsuki_campaign_e.html#at

 

This page URL:

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/10/20091023_akatsuki_campaign_e.html

———————————————————————

Publisher : Public Affairs Department

            Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

            Marunouchi Kitaguchi Building,

            1-6-5, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8260

            Japan

            TEL:+81-3-6266-6400

 

JAXA WEB SITE :

http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html

JAXA Press Release – KAGUYA (SELENE) Successfully Captures Moving Images of the Earth
at the Time of a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse using HDTV

February 18, 2009 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) successfully took moving images of the precise Earth rise moment when the Earth looked like a diamond ring using the onboard high definition camera (HDTV) of the lunar explorer “KAGUYA” (SELENE) on February 10, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, all the following dates and times are Japan Standard Time.) The moment came when a penumbral lunar eclipse occurred and sunlight was covered by the Earth. During that time, since the view of the Sun from the KAGUYA was mostly covered by the Earth, the KAGUYA observed that the Earth looked like a diamond ring. This is the first time that this phenomenon was shot from the Moon.

The images were shot by the HDTV onboard the KAGUYA for space-use developing by NHK. The moving images were received at JAXA and processed at NHK.

* A penumbral lunar eclipse is a phenomenon in which the Sun, Earth and Moon line up in tandem, hence the Moon is in the Earth’s penumbra, or, when you look from the Moon, the Sun is partially covered by the Earth (partial eclipse.) During this phenomenon, the volume of sunlight to the Moon decreases, and the Moon’s surface looks darker when you look at the Moon from the Earth. The KAGUYA, which circles around the Moon on its polar orbit, can witness this phenomenon only twice a year at most, thus it was very valuable to capture the moving images of the phenomenon from the KAGUYA.

The Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) during the penumbral lunar eclipse
(480x270px)

http://space.jaxa.jp/movie/20090218_kaguya_movie01_e.html

Figure 1 Image of the Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) during the penumbral lunar eclipse

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict1

This still image was a cutout from the moving images taken by the onboard HDTV (tele-camera) of the KAGUYA (SELENE) on February 10, 2009.
The bright part on the lower right side is the Sun and the black area surrounded by the thin light ring is the Earth. The red dotted line shows the Moon’s surface. Most of the Sun is covered by the Earth and the Moon’s surface.
The contour of the Earth is shining in a ring shape because of the atmosphere. It scatters in the atmosphere in the periphery of the Earth, and a part of the sunlight reaches the Moon. The Earth’s rim looks like a blue ring from the Moon since it is thought that the scattering sunlight with blue color light occurs easily because of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Figure 2 Sequence images of the Earth by the HDTV (Tele-camera) during the penumbral lunar eclipse

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict2

The KAGUYA captured the moving image of the Earth and the Sun gradually rising from the Moon’s surface. The above sequence of images is a cutout from the moving image to show the rising process.
The image on the far left is just after the Earth rise from the Moon’s surface. It took about 47 seconds to film from the left to the right when the Sun came out from the Moon’s surface and the diamond ring appeared.

Figure 3 Positions of the KAGUYA, Moon, Earth and Sun when images of the Earth-rise during the penumbral lunar eclipse

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html#pict3

This page URL:

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_kaguya_e.html

———————————————————————
Publisher : Public Affairs Department
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Marunouchi Kitaguchi Building,
1-6-5, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8260
Japan
TEL:+81-3-6266-6400

JAXA WEB SITE :

http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html