Marubeni links up with Italian aerospace startup D-Orbit
Japan's Marubeni Corp. announced on Tuesday that it will form a partnership with Italian aerospace startup D-Orbit aimed at the satellite launch business.
Space & Aeronautics
Space
Microbes in Earth’s crust point to primitive life on Mars
Life on Mars? Planet Earth has turned up tantalizing evidence that there could be after researchers found dense concentrations of microbial cells in cracks of ancient crust deep below the seabed.
Hayabusa2 Creates Semicircular Crater on Asteroid Ryugu
The artificial crater created by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on the surface of asteroid Ryugu in April last year is semicircular and has about 14.5 meters in diameter, a research team including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Friday. The team published an article detailing the experiment to make the crater in the online edition of U.S. journal Science on the day.
Rocks on Asteroid Ryugu Unexpectedly Porous: JAXA-Led Team
Thermal imaging data have shown that rocks on the surface of asteroid Ryugu are unexpectedly porous, a team of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and others said Tuesday.
The thermographic images indicate that "the asteroid's boulders and their surroundings have similar temperatures," the research team led by Tatsuaki Okada, associate professor at JAXA, said in an article published in the online version of science journal Nature.
Japan’s space agency plans to land probe on Martian moon
No country has landed a probe on a Martian moon, but a new Japan space mission aims to make that giant leap for mankind in 2024.
JAXA and U.N. food agency join hands on global monitoring of forests
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization have agreed to cooperate on monitoring forests and mangroves — considered a sponge for greenhouse gases — around the world by using data from observation satellites amid deepening concerns over climate change.
H2A rocket blasts off, puts reconnaissance satellite in orbit
The H2A No. 41 rocket was successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on Feb. 9, putting an information gathering satellite in orbit 20 minutes later, according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
Japan's rise as a space power
Japan has emerged as a leading space-faring nation over the past few decades. A renowned world leader in high technology, the country has drawn from its expertise in key areas such as robotics to mark its place among elite space-faring nations.
Forest monitoring gets a boost from JAXA space agency data
Powerful data from a Japanese radar system, available for the first time, will allow governments to monitor threats to their forests and peatlands more closely, helping them tap funding to protect those ecosystems, the United Nations said on Thursday.
Nagoya tech school students plan to build seaplane for flood rescues
Members of Nagoya City Technical High School’s airplane club are planning to develop a seaplane that can be used to rescue people from floods — an idea they came up with after learning about the Ise Bay Typhoon, a 1959 storm that swept through the Chubu region, claiming more than 5,000 lives.