Vision

The missions of ISAS aim to push ahead academic researchers through the planning, development, flying experiments, operations and result production of unique and excellent space science missions consistently with the cooperation from universities, institutes in Japan and foreign space institutes with the use of satellites, probes, sounding rocket, scientific balloons and the international space station.

The biggest advantage of ISAS is that researchers of space engineering and space science cooperate with each other. Engineers lead science missions with advanced technologies and new technologies that scientists expect can be developed efficiently.

Missions of ISAS

  • To answer fundamental problems of the modern space science and make them common intellectual properties of the society
  • To create and execute new exploration programs such as landing on celestial bodies like the moon, the Mars and its satellites and collecting extraterrestrial materials and going back to the earth through the close cooperation between science and engineering
  • To continuously develop the space transportation system to execute missions with lower cost and higher frequency
  • To sustainably realize advanced space science missions with the cooperative structure that universities and institutes from both inside and outside the county work together according to the Inter-University Research Institute System
  • To cultivate talents to get involved in space development and researches on space science
  • To contribute to the space development of Japan including space utilization

Scientific satellite and exploration programs become more and more large-scale and complicated. ISAS is an essential part of JAXA. Gathering knowledge and experiences of JAXA's staff members with excellent administrative abilities, ISAS is going to realize innovative scientific missions.

At the same time, by conducting demonstrations of advanced technologies timely, ISAS will make more contributions to development to space exploration including the space utilization by JAXA and private companies.