Feature Stories

JAXA GOSAT Project Team

The Greenhouse gas Observing SATellite (GOSAT) is designed to observe the global distribution of greenhouse gases from space, and is expected to contribute to international efforts for the prevention of global warming by acquiring the current absorption and emission levels of greenhouse gases.

GOSAT will have two sensors: the greenhouse gases sensor TANSO-FTS (Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation - Fourier Transform Spectrometer) and its auxiliary sensor, the Cloud and Aerosol Imager, TANSO-CAI.

A profile of greenhouse gas concentration has been mapped from measurement data obtained through ground and airborne observations. However, there are only 256 observation points, which is a fairly small number, (as of February 2008) and the number of places where observations are made is quite limited.

GOSAT is designed to measure the distribution of greenhouse gases almost on a global basis, while orbiting our planet every 100 minutes and obtaining data of the same regional point every three days. Accordingly, the satellite will provide us with remarkable measurement data from a huge number of places (approximately 56,000 points) and do so every three days, which is very frequent.
Such GOSAT data will be provided to authorities and scientists all over the world.

GOSAT is scheduled to be launched with an H-IIA rocket, together with six small satellites in the winter season in 2008, and at present, a test for its Flight Model is being implemented at Tsukuba Space Center.

Mr. Takashi Hamazaki, project manager of GOSAT, and senior engineer JAXA said:

"GOSAT is expected to track extremely small densities of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), and observe deviations in the concentrations of those gases.
We have to overcome some very technical challenges in order to develop and manufacture those sensors.
We strongly intend to contribute to international efforts for preventing global warming, which is the common objective of humanity, with GOSAT"