Saving Lives With Satellites: Using Space Science to Prevent Natural Disasters

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 devastated Japan’s northeast region. Many people perished, many more were injured, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. As Japan continues its recovery from this cataclysmic event, there is a great awareness of the need to better monitor natural disasters. JAXA is working on several disaster-prevention projects. In this special feature, we look at the Advanced Land Observing Satellite DAICHI, the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite KIZUNA (WINDS), and the Engineering Test Satellite VIII (KIKU No. 8), as well as JAXA’s participation in international disaster-prevention efforts.

Supporting Disaster Management With Space Applications Jun Gomi Director, Satellite Applications and Promotion Center, JAXA FULL STORY

Tracking Earthquakes by Monitoring Crustal Deformation Masayuki Yamanaka Chief of Earth Deformation Observation Section, Space Geodesy Division, Geodetic Department, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) FULL STORY

Using Satellites to Study Volcanic Activity Jun Funasaki Senior Coordinator for Volcanic Affairs, Volcanological Division, Seismological and Volcanological Department, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) FULL STORY

Using Satellites to Help Local Communities Ryuzo Yokoyama Professor Emeritus, Iwate University President, Yokoyama Geo-Spatial Information Laboratory Co., Ltd. FULL STORY

A New Satellite to Battle Large-Scale Natural Disasters Yuji Osawa Project Manager, Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) FULL STORY