Yoshifumi Yasuoka, Ph.D.
Technical Counselor
|
I have recently been assigned as the Technical Counselor in JAXA's Earth Observation Research Center, replacing Toshihiro Ogawa. Although my post is part-time, I will endeavor to promote effective utilization and application of satellite observation data.
Since April 1995 when the center was established as the core for the analysis and research of Earth observation satellite data, we have been calibrating and validating the observed data and the observation instruments aboard Earth observation satellites as well as ADEOS (Midori), developing higher-level algorithms, and experimentally generating research products.
These activities support JAXA's mid-term plan, defined in 2003 when JAXA was reorganized as an independent administrative agency, especially the development and operation of an observation and information distribution system and expansion of data utilization for disaster mitigation and risk management, resource management, and global environment monitoring, which contribute to building a safe and secure society.
Indeed, the global climate and environment changes in recent years are of great concern and even threaten the continuation of the Earth system. Global change may even menace people's daily lives by generating frequent storms and flood damage such as the mighty typhoons. The Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS), a cooperative project for international Earth observation, was started in 2005 to cope with such changes. In March 2006, the Earth observation and marine prospecting system was selected as a national core technology by the Japanese Council for Science and Technology Policy. We are preparing to proceed with our research and development about Earth observation as Japan's core organization for satellite observation.
We intend to conduct our research and development in such a way as to respond to people's expectations by continuing operations including emergent observation and information distribution using the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) "Daichi," which was launched in January 2006; by promoting other projects as well as the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) project; and by steadily implementing the mid-term plan by cooperating with domestic and international related organizations.
We appreciate your support and cooperation.
|
