The six-month Osaka-Kansai Expo that opened this past April drew to a close on October 13. JAXA took active part in this event, supplying its own permanent exhibition entitled "Standing on the Moon. And Beyond...", helping put together displays at the Japan Pavilion featuring samples from asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu and SLIM landing leg test models, and providing a traffic control system essential for monitoring the operational status of flying cars and drones. Our permanent exhibition welcomed a tremendous number of visitors from both Japan and abroad, giving them an opportunity to experience the current state and future vision of Japan's aerospace industry centered on space exploration, particularly through immersive visuals on our 'Ultra-High-Definition Large LED Curved Vision' and interactive content. Many JAXA staff members participated onsite as expositors and enjoyed valuable opportunities to engage with visitors and gain insights from their diverse perspectives.
This LED Curved Vision display will be relocated to the Space Dome exhibition hall at the Tsukuba Space Center starting in November, where it will be available for viewing anytime during the hall opening hours.

Ibuki GW, launched on June 29 this year, completed its initial functional checkout and transitioned to the steady-state operation phase on October 9. The steady-state operation phase will begin with initial calibration and verification operations to verify sensor accuracy and make any necessary data corrections. We are aiming to move on to steady-state observations approximately one year after launch and begin providing observational data. We will continue collaborating with prime contractor Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and the other companies and organizations involved in satellite operations to ensure reliable operations.

New unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft1
(HTV-X1) launched aboard the 7th H3 Launch Vehicle on October 26 arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on October 30 and successfully completed docking. We will touch on subsequent developments in the section covering Astronaut Yui's activities.

MICHIBIKI No. 5, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZS-5) will be launched on December 7 aboard the 8th H3 Launch Vehicle.
The “RApid Innovative payload demonstration SatellitE-4 (RAISE-4),” the fourth satellite in the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program, is also scheduled to be launched within the year. Carrying eight demonstration theme devices proposed by companies and other organizations, RAISE-4 will be launched from New Zealand aboard Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.
JAXA will be working closely with all companies involved to make steady progress on each and every preparatory task for the launch.

JAXA began accepting proposals on 24 themes for the Space Strategy Fund's second phase in May, and the proposal window for all themes was closed on November 6. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for the many proposals we received. The review process has been steadily moving forward; we made our final selections of implementing organizations for two technology development themes on October 10 and the implementing organization for one additional technology development theme on November 7.
We are also making progress in screening the remaining themes, and we intend to decide on the implementing organizations before the end of this fiscal year. Meanwhile, we will proceed as expected with our operations to fulfill our role as a node connecting industry, academia, and government.

On October 30, the HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft was captured using a robotic arm operated by astronaut Kimiya Yui, who is on a long-duration stay aboard the ISS, and was then berthed to the ISS.
The experimental equipment and daily necessities onboard the HTV-X1 have gradually been retrieved by the crew.

Credit for the successful completion of one of HTV-X's missions -- transporting supplies to the ISS -- goes to the meticulous preparations made by Astronaut Yui, the HTV-X ground operations team, and all the other personnel involved, as well as to the steady execution of operations based on these preparations. We take pride in the fact that this mission demonstrated Japan's high level of technological capability.

The HTV-X1 spacecraft also carries the DRCS, JEM Demonstration of CO2 Removal System that was designed with future manned space exploration in mind. It is scheduled to be installed in the “Kibo” Japanese Experiment Module. This device represents technology essential for the life support systems that will enable long-duration stays by astronauts on future lunar and Martian exploration missions. Its successful demonstration constitutes a crucial step toward future exploration activities.

The ISS marked a milestone on November 2, celebrating a full 25 years of continuous crew presence.
Japan has conducted numerous scientific experiments through the “Kibo” Japanese Experiment Module and racked up many achievements. The fluid physics experiment apparatus used in a Marangoni convection experiment first conducted aboard “Kibo” in 2008 was recently removed by Astronaut Yui. The aforementioned DRCS is scheduled to be installed in its space.
Experiments utilizing “Kibo” are thus also undergoing generational change. We will continue promoting scientific and technological utilization that maximizes the use of the “Kibo” module's environment.

The Space Technology Directorate I’s Earth Observation Research Center (EORC) was established in 1995, so this year marks the 30th year of full-scale efforts related to the analysis and utilization of satellite data.
Leveraging the features of Earth observation satellites -- wide coverage, mission and data continuity and immediacy -- satellite data is routinely utilized in fields such as climate change, disaster prevention, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, infrastructure monitoring, and land conservation. Such data is becoming indispensable for resolving societal challenges.

The current landscape of Earth observation is undergoing significant changes, including increased participation from startups and other entities, the diversification of needs, demand for industrial-academic-government collaboration and the creation of strategic missions. The Consortium for Satellite Earth Observation (CONSEO) was established in 2022, and it is acknowledged to be bringing together industry, academia, and government for active discussions.

Based on these considerations, the Fifth Medium-to-Long-Term Plan that commenced this fiscal year incorporated the following --
■ clarifying the benefits (returns) to be gained through industry-academia-government collaboration, and
■ identifying and strategically advancing JAXA's advanced research and development activities, including new satellite development and solution development, as well as international collaboration
-- in order to clarify the organization’s policy.
Specifically, we will establish concrete directions and work on four key themes to clarify and realize the benefits (returns).

These four key themes are:
■ identification of natural capital and credit creation
■ marine situation awareness
■ water disasters and water resource management
■ infrastructure management and digital transformation of disaster prevention

To accelerate these initiatives and strategically propel them forward, we established the Earth Observation Program Strategy Office in September. Going forward, the Strategy Office will play a central role in creating diverse value through satellite Earth observation and realizing a virtuous cycle where new satellite development and utilization expand. We will also contribute to the Earth observation field as outlined in the Basic Space Plan by “strengthening national resilience”, “addressing global challenges”, “achieving innovation”, and “enhancing space security.”

JAXA is continuously engaged in research and development for the existing Disaster Relief Aircraft Information Sharing Network, commonly known as “D-NET,” as well as for a system representing an evolution of D-NET that will enable collaboration between manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft such as drones.

D-NET has been utilized in disaster response situations and in the control of firefighting, disaster prevention, and emergency medical helicopters operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Fire and Disaster Management Agency, local governments, and other entities. With an eye toward broader applications, we have also been developing security and surveillance functions. D-NET was utilized during the 2019 Osaka G20 Summit and the 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to assist in security operations throughout these events.

Both manned and unmanned aircraft are increasingly being utilized for security at large-scale events. Since they are controlled by different systems, addressing challenges such as the difficulty of centrally monitoring both in real time and responding to sudden incidents has become an urgent priority.
JAXA is leading research and development efforts on the DOER (Delivering Technologies for Cooperative Aerial Emergency Response) System, which aims to safely and integrally control and operate both manned and unmanned aircraft.

Field tests were conducted from October 2 to 10 to demonstrate the effectiveness of the DOER System, taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

As announced in our November 7 press release, this demonstration was conducted in collaboration with Weathernews Inc., NTT DATA Japan Corporation, and Terra Drone Corporation.
A simulated operations control center was established near the Expo site and simulations were run based on a variety of operational procedures and incident scenarios, including “pre-flight day coordination,” “flight day operations monitoring,” and “allocation of emergency missions arising on flight day to manned or unmanned aircraft.” Information was shared by the system itself and between operators, and operational data on coordination and other aspects was gathered and evaluated/analyzed.
Following the demonstration testing, we also received word from the ministries and local governments that will be system users to the effect that the system meets the necessary functions and performance required for social implementation.

JAXA will continue enhancing the functionality of the DOER System in line with the insights gained from this demonstration as it prepares for the disaster response verification test scheduled for next fiscal year. We remain committed to advancing research and development with the goal of expanding applications for disaster response and security in remote areas.