(ISAS) is a Japanese national research organization of

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

using

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...

satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Since 2003, it is a division of

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

(JAXA).

History

The ISAS originated as part of the Institute of Industrial Science of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, where Hideo Itokawa experimented with miniature

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...

s ( Pencil Rocket and

Baby Rocket An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

) in the 1950s. This experimentation eventually led to the development of the Κ (''Kappa'')

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...

, which was used for observations during the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific ...

(IGY). By 1960, the Κ-8 rocket had reached an altitude of 200 km. In 1964, the rocket group and the ''Institute of Aeronautics'', along with scientific ballooning team, were merged to form within the University of Tokyo. The rocket evolved into the L (''Lambda'') series, and, in 1970, L-4S-5 was launched as Japan's first artificial satellite Ohsumi. Although ''Lambda'' rockets were only sounding rockets, the next generation of M (''Mu'') rockets was intended to be satellite launch vehicles from the start. Beginning in 1971, ISAS launched a series of

scientific satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisoto ...

to observe the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...

and

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynam ...

. Since the launch of

Hakucho Hakucho (also known as CORSA-b before launch; CORSA stands for Cosmic Radiation Satellite) was Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, developed by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science (then a division of the University of Tokyo). I ...

in 1979, ISAS has had X-ray astronomy satellites consecutively in orbit, until it was briefly terminated by the launch failure of

ASTRO-E ''Suzaku'' (formerly ASTRO-EII) was an X-ray astronomy satellite developed jointly by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science at JAXA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to probe high energy X-ray sources, such as supernova explo ...

. In 1981, as a part of university system reform, and for the mission expansion, ISAS was spun out from University of Tokyo as an inter-university national research organization, ''Institute of Space and Astronautical Science''. ISAS was responsible for launching Japan's first interplanetary probes,

Sakigake , known before launch as MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the USA or the Soviet Union. It aimed to demonstrate the performance of the new launch vehic ...

and

Suisei Suisei is Japanese for "comet" and the Japanese name for the planet Mercury. It may also stand for: *Hoshimachi Suisei, Japanese virtual YouTuber * Suisei (probe) , originally known as Planet-A, was an unmanned space probe developed by the Ins ...

, to

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...

in 1985. It also launched

Hiten Hiten may refer to: * Hiten (name), Indian given name * Hiten (spacecraft), Japanese lunar probe *Tennin , which may include , , and the specifically female version, the , are a divine kind of spiritual beings found in Japanese Buddhism, the ...

, Japan's first lunar probe, in 1990. The Nozomi probe was launched in 1998 in an attempt to orbit Mars, but the spacecraft suffered system failures and was unable to enter orbit. In 2003, ISAS launched the

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

spacecraft, the first asteroid sample return mission in the world. Later in 2003, three national aerospace organizations including ISAS were merged to form

(JAXA). The English name ''Institute of Space and Astronautical Science'' is still used, although the Japanese name was changed to 宇宙科学研究本部 (literally, ''Space Science Research Division'', whereas the previous name's literal translation was ''Space Science Laboratory''). In 2010, the name was changed back to the previous . Under JAXA, ISAS continues to be responsible for space-based astronomy, and lunar and planetary exploration missions.

List of spacecraft by ISAS

Before establishment of JAXA

After establishment of JAXA

Future missions

References

External links

Official website

From Pencil to M-V — History of Rocket Development
- Official JAXA YouTube Channel (in Japanese) {{authority control JAXA Aerospace Research institutes in Japan Aerospace research institutes