The 43 kg microsatellite Rising-2 jointly developed by Tohoku University and Hokkaido University has been shipped out today from Sendai today, April 5,2014. It will arrive in JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center where it will stay there until its launch, scheduled for May 24, 2014. The event followed a press conference during which the heads of the project explained the onboard technologies and the objectives of the mission. With its high-resolution telescope and its several cameras, this observation satellite will study the earth and the cloud in order to better understand the mechanism of the sudden heavy downpour, which often develop in Japan during summer. Rising-2 is also expected to provide information regarding sprites, red atmospheric electrical discharges occurring high above the cloud.

 

For more information on Rising-2, please click the link below: