Q. The International Space Station (ISS) accounts for a large portion of JAXA’s budget. What are the merits of continuing this participation?
Art experiment using light, in the Kibo experiment module on the ISS ("Spiral Top" by Takuro Osaka, implemented by JAXA)
Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa in training (courtesy: NASA)
The ISS is an international project to which all the participating countries have committed, so it is not possible for Japan to unilaterally withdraw. It is true that our budget was cut after last year’s budget review. However, earlier, the Japanese government approved extending our participation until 2020, five years longer than initially planned. Among all the participating counties, Japan was the second after NASA to make that decision, and as a result we were able to have an advantage at the Heads of Agency meeting, for example. Japan is also the third country, after the U.S. and Russia, in terms of the level of contribution to the operation and maintenance of the ISS. As a result, 12.8 percent of crew time on the ISS is available to Japanese astronauts. In other words, we can send up a Japanese astronaut every 18 months. So we would like to encourage Japanese research institutes and private companies to become active users of the ISS.
Although much of the work in the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo is in the realm of science, the ISS exists not only for scientists but for all humankind. Keeping this in mind, we make efforts to turn the ISS into a place for creating new culture. In Kibo, we don’t just do scientific experiments; there are also experiments in the humanities and social sciences, and artistic activities. When we ask astronauts to carry out an art experiment, they work on it with great excitement and enthusiasm. I believe that experiments for the humanities and social sciences have a great deal of meaning. How we can culturally reflect the wonderful results that have been achieved thus far - this will be a moment of truth.
I look at the ISS as a new continent created in cooperation with many other countries, and it is impossible to measure the value of maintaining such a universal property. In addition, since the construction of the ISS began, there have been neither wars nor international disputes among the partner nations. So you could say that space projects are a path to the realization of world peace. The operation and maintenance of the ISS requires very advanced technologies and knowledge. I believe that it greatly contributes to the development of science and technology in Japan. Q. Could you tell us about JAXA’s plans for human space missions, including the operations of the ISS? Astronaut Furukawa is going to start a long mission this spring, and in the early summer of 2012, astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will be the next to take off on a long mission. As the operation of the ISS has been extended to 2020, three more Japanese astronauts will experience long missions by then, too. If a Japanese astronaut is assigned to a space mission almost every year, the number of astronauts we have now may not be enough, and we will have to recruit more in the future.
Q. The H-II Transfer Vehicle KOUNOTORI 2 (HTV2), a cargo transport vehicle to the ISS, was launched on January 22, 2011. How do you intend to develop its usage?
KOUNOTORI 1 cargo transfer vehicle to the International Space Station (courtesy: NASA)
We plan to launch a KOUNOTORI spacecraft every year. KOUNOTORI is highly regarded around the world, not just for its performance but also for its beautiful design. We are also considering the development of an HTV-R - KOUNOTORI with the capability of returning to the Earth. The "R" in HTV-R stands for "return."
One of KOUNOTORI’s two logistics carriers is pressurized, so humans can get inside. So after it docked with the ISS, astronauts entered to take the cargo out. If we can launch a pressurized module and return it to Earth safely, this will be equivalent to launching and retrieving a human spacecraft. For that reason, the HTV-R will be a first step towards Japanese human space travel. We would absolutely like to develop KOUNOTORI further for human flight.
Our heat-resistant technology for re-entry was established and verified with the HAYABUSA sample return capsule. What I expect next is that we design spacecraft for human flight, and conduct experiments and verification. ESA aims to develop its Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for human flight by 2020. It is not a competition, but we would like to launch a successful flight of the HTV-R in the mid 2010s, before ESA launches its vehicle.
Q. What kind of international contributions did JAXA satellites make last year?
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite IBUKI
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite DAICHI has been making great contributions to Sentinel Asia, the international disaster-management project, and the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters." DAICHI is appreciated for providing detailed observation data on large-scale natural disasters around the world. Just to name a few major ones from last year, DAICHI observed the Haiti earthquake, the Chile earthquake, the Yushu earthquake in China, the volcano eruption in Iceland, the floods in Pakistan, and the eruptions of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. Of course, when a natural disaster happens in Japan, DAICHI rapidly observes and provides satellite images to the relevant organizations.
JAXA satellites also contribute to solving environmental problems. Today, extreme weather is occurring around the globe, and it is thought to be caused by environmental destruction by human beings. To study these phenomena, JAXA has signed an agreement with an agency of the United Nations to monitor illegal logging in tropical forests, as well as monitoring glacier and sea ice. We also collaborate with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat on conservation of wetlands, which are the natural habitat of many waterfowl. In addition, we provide data on world heritage conservation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
While DAICHI is the primary tool used in these projects, our international partners have also requested data from another JAXA satellite, the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite IBUKI. Since NASA’s failed launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009, IBUKI has been the only satellite observing greenhouse gases. IBUKI data is currently being analyzed, but greenhouse gas data obtained from space is not sufficient in itself. For consistency and accuracy, it needs to be compared with data collected through ground observation and aircraft reconnaissance. To this end, I think it is important to establish cooperative relationships with research institutes overseas, which can provide us with comparative data. Presently, the Japanese government and JAXA are members of an international organization called the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which standardizes and integrates Earth observation data, and we are playing an important role in that process. In the future, by precisely observing greenhouse gases and the carbon cycle both locally and globally, it will become possible to accurately measure the status of greenhouse gas reduction in each country, and to offer scientific insight to policymakers to make policies on greenhouse gas reduction.
Q. Apart from the Earth observing satellites IBUKI and DAICHI, what other contributions is JAXA going to make to the fight against global warming in 2011?
Global Change Observation Mission 1st - Water, GCOM-W1
JAXA is scheduled to launch the Global Change Observation Mission 1st - Water (GCOM-W1) this year. This is the first-ever satellite to observe water, which has the greatest impact on climate. There is relatively abundant water in Japan, but around the world there are water shortages. Water is essential for living organisms to survive, but it is thought that only one percent of water on Earth is available for this purpose; the rest exists underground or as seawater.
GCOM-W1 will monitor global water circulation: where water evaporates from, where it rains, and where quantities exist. GCOM-W1 will also monitor water vapor. Water vapor has an impact on global warming because it forms clouds when it mixes with aerosols. Thick clouds are thought to be a trigger for rapid climate changes, such as global warming and cooling due to lack of sunlight. So understanding water circulation is also a very important part of addressing global warming.
In the meantime, we need to build an appropriate database, as the volume of data obtained by JAXA’s Earth observation satellites will continue to increase. Of course, we are already working on this, but processing such quantities of data for effective utilization is labor-intensive and expensive. JAXA’s primary responsibility is to acquire valuable data from space, so, ideally, another organization would be charged with data analysis and applications. In the United States, NASA is responsible for the development and operation of satellites and rockets, and the accumulation and application of the Earth observation data obtained by those satellites falls under the responsibility of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I would like to see Japan establish a similar agency to integrate and process our Earth observation data.
