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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

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The Earth at night and the star Sirius captured by JAXA Astronaut Yui Kimya. Image: JAXA/NASA

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan’s core agency responsible for the research, development and implementation of technology in space. It was established in 2003, however Japan’s involvement in the field of space development started long before that. In 1970 Japan became the world’s fourth country to successfully launch its first satellite: ‘Ohsumi’. Since then, Japan has developed many world-leading space technologies in various fields, such as space science, human spaceflight, Earth observation and space transportation. Today, JAXA continues to develop and harness these technological strengths in order to contribute to space development around the world and maximize the potential of space for the benefit of humankind. Read on to find out more about some of JAXA’s projects and missions.

Space Transportation

Japan’s space technology has made great advances since the development of its first rocket, a 23-centimetre long pencil rocket by “the father of Japanese rocketry”, aeronautical engineer Dr Itokawa Hideo. Launch vehicles (rockets) are a vital part of the space transportation system, carrying satellites and spacecraft, with astronauts or cargo, from Earth to space. JAXA’s current primary launch vehicles are H-IIA, a large scale, reliable, mainstay rocket that supports the missions of satellites and space probes; H-IIB, a large transportation system that carries supplies to the International Space Station; H3, JAXA’s next-generation, heavy-lift flagship rocket launching for the first time in Japanese fiscal year 2021; and Epsilon, a solid-fuel rocket designed to launch satellites into orbit. JAXA continues its work on enhancing the performance, reliability and efficiency of its launch vehicles, offering a dependable delivery of supplies to space.

KOUNOTORI 6 approaches the International Space Station
The H-II Transfer Vehicle 6 (KOUNOTORI 6) approaches the International Space Station on 13 December 2016. Image: JAXA/NASA
KOUNOTORI2 H IIB Launched 971x546
The successful launch of Kounotori 2, launched by the H-IIB F2 Launch Vehicle on 22 January 2011, carrying supplies to the International Space Station. Image: JAXA
Tanegashima Space Center 971x546
The Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC), in the south of Kagoshima Prefecture, is the launch site of JAXA's H-II series of rockets and H3 rocket. It is the largest rocket-launch complex in Japan and regarded as the most beautiful in the world. Image: JAXA
Drying of fresh fruit and vegetables to be carried to the International Space Station by the H II Transfer Vehicle 8 KOUNOTORI 8 971x546
Fresh fruit and vegetables are sterilized and dried at the Tanegashima Space Centre, ready to be carried to the International Space Station by the H-II Transfer Vehicle Kounotori 8. Image: JAXA
Astronauts receive fresh fruit and vegetables delivered by the HTV8 2019 971x546
Expedition 61 crew members, from left: NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir, Andrew Morgan, and Christina Koch and ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano, open a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables delivered by by the H-II Transfer Vehicle 8 (KOUNOTORI 8) on 8 October 2019. Image: JAXA/NASA
H3 Launch Vehicle Test Flight image 971x546
H3 Launch Vehicle Test Flight 1 (TF1). CG Image: JAXA

Earth Observation

Satellites are widely used for weather forecasting, navigation, communication and broadcasting, and are indispensable in modern life. They also assist in environmental monitoring, offering the ability to uniformly observe the global atmosphere, land, and oceans from space. In 2009, JAXA launched the world’s first Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), named IBUKI, which monitors the global atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and methane. In 2018, IBUKI-2 (GOSAT-2) was launched to monitor long-term changes in greenhouse gases, an essential task for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement: the international treaty on climate change signed in 2016. With these satellite technologies, JAXA aims to contribute solutions to global challenges. Learn more by watching a video of our online event Space Transportation & Earth Observation Satellites with speakers from JAXA.

Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite 2 GOSAT 2 971x546
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT-2), named IBUKI-2, in orbit. CG Image: JAXA
Lifting the IBUKI GOSAT 971x546
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) IBUKI being lifted before PAF (Payload Attached Fitting) / PSS (Payload Support Structure) Assembly. Image: JAXA

Space Exploration

Hayabusa2 is an exploration mission to the asteroid Ryūgū. Based on the theory that water previously existed on Ryūgū, the mission’s aim is to gain a better understanding of the origins of planets and water on Earth. The spacecraft was launched in December 2014 and took just over three and a half years to reach Ryūgū. Small rovers landed on the asteroid and subsurface samples were accessed by an impactor firing to create an artificial crater on the asteroid. Hayabusa2 departed Ryūgū in November 2019 and delivered the samples via a separated capsule which landed in Woomera Desert in Australia in December 2020. Safely recovered, the samples are undergoing extensive analysis. Learn more about this mission by watching a video of our online event Searching for the Origins of the Universe which featured speakers from JAXA and took place just three weeks prior to Hayabusa2’s return to Earth.

Hayabusa2 Touchdown at Crater 971x546
Hayabusa2 touchdown at the artificially created crater. CG Image: JAXA
Confirming the success of the Hayabusa2 credit JAXA 971x546
The Hayabusa2 team members celebrating the success of TCM-5 (trajectory correction manoeuvre for departure from the Earth’s sphere). Image: JAXA
Surface of asteroid Ryugu explored by JAXA's Hayabusa2 mission
Surface of Ryūgū photographed with the Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic (ONC-T) from an altitude of approximately 1250m. Image: JAXA, University Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu, AIST.

International Space Station: Module Kibō

JAXA is one of five space agencies participating in the International Space Station (ISS) programme – a collaborative project of a scale unmatched in human history. Its key contribution has been the development of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), called Kibō (meaning ‘hope’), which is the largest module on ISS and provides a microgravity environment for scientific research that contributes to solving challenges on Earth. The agency offers access to Kibō facilities for many Asian countries through cooperative relationships with Japan. Since 2015, JAXA has been working with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to provide emerging space nations with opportunities to deploy cube satellites (CubeSats) – micro/nano-satellites for space research – from Kibō. This collaborative project contributes to space capacity building and provides support to non-space faring countries and regions, in advancing their space capabilities.

Japanese Experiment Module JEM pictured during spacewalk 29March2018 credit JAXA NASA 971x546
A view of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Kibō, photographed during a spacewalk in 2018. Image: JAXA/NASA
JAXA Astronaut Kanai Norishige works on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace sample exchange in the Kibo module
JAXA Astronaut Kanai Norishige works on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace sample exchange in the Kibo module on 9 March 2018. Image: JAXA/NASA
3U Cubesat UBAKUSAT Turkey deployed from the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer
3U CubeSat UBAKUSAT (Turkey) deployed from the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer on 11 May 2018. Image: JAXA/NASA

International Collaboration

In its collaboration efforts, JAXA participates in international space exploration projects that aim to contribute to the expansion of sustainable human activities in space. Currently, it is involved in the Artemis Programme led by NASA which aims to establish an ongoing presence on the Moon for peaceful purposes. Supporting this programme with Japanese technology, JAXA is working with both industry partners and academia. Other collaborative projects include the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to explore potential resources in the lunar polar region; and the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Mission, led by JAXA with international participation, to understand the origins of the two Martian moons and collect samples from the larger moon Phobos. Find out more by watching a video of our online event The International Space Station & Space Exploration with Astronaut Yui Kimiya.

The International Space Station as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery credit JAXA NASA 971x546
The International Space Station as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery after it departed from the orbital outpost (FD13) on 17 April 2010. Onboard was the Japanese astronaut Yamazaki Naoko. Image: JAXA/NASA

JAXA’s project and missions were the focus of a series of online events presented by Japan House London in collaboration with JAXA and the Royal Astronomical Society.