Emergence of Integrated Disaster Prevention and Space Development

摘要

A year ago, last spring, JAXA announced the JAXA Long-Term Vision — JAXA 2025 — which provides a clear goal of Japanese aerospace activities for the next 20 years. One of the Visions' key features is that it calls for the use of satellites in disaster prevention. This is a plan that is inextricably linked to our way of life in that it seeks to protect our lives and safety. In recent years, we have seen a stream of natural disasters hit around the world, from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami to hurricane Katrina, the landslides on Leyte and Mindanao islands in the Philippines, and torrential rains in Fukui Prefecture. Satellites have captured images of the wrath of each of these disasters. Now JAXA is aiming to use disaster-proof space systems to create a social system that will bring together the monitoring of disasters, the collection and analysis of data, and the issuance of warnings to individuals, so as to contribute to the safety and security of society through the accurate and speedy assessment and communication of information on disasters. In order to explore integrated disaster prevention and space development, JAXA has put together the Team for the Promotion of Satellite Use in Disaster Prevention. We spoke to Team Leader and JAXA Associate Executive Director Hideshi Kozawa about JAXA's approach to the emergence of integrated disaster prevention and space development.