Japanese Experiment Module Research Articles

Microbial Observatory Research in the International Space Station and Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo”

The International Space Station (ISS) is a completely closed environment that offers a long-term microgravity environment. It is a unique environment where microbes can fly and attach themselves to devices or humans, especially the exposed parts of the body and head. The ongoing monitoring and analysis of microbes and their movement inside the Japanese Experiment Module (named “Kibo”) of the ISS are intended to study the effects of microbes on humans and prevent health hazards caused by microbes during a long-term space mission. This paper describes the current status and future plan of Japanese microbiological experiments to monitor microbial dynamics in Kibo. It also describes the future prospective and prioritized microbiological research areas based on the “Kibo utilization scenario towards 2020 in the field of life science.” Given the microbial research in space being actively conducted by the USA, NASA and international activities are also reported.

Bacterial Monitoring in the International Space Station – “Kibo”

Since 2009, we have been continuously performing bacterial monitoring in Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station (ISS), in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The objective of this research is to monitor microbes and analyze their dynamics in Kibo from environmental microbiological viewpoints. In this review, we summarize our research related to bacterial monitoring in Kibo.

The JEM-EUSO mission: An introduction

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on board the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station, JEM-EUSO, is being designed to search from space ultra-high energy cosmic rays. These are charged particles with energies from a few 1019 eV to beyond 1020 eV, at the very end of the known cosmic ray energy spectrum. JEM-EUSO will also search for extreme energy neutrinos, photons, and exotic particles, providing a unique opportunity to explore largely unknown phenomena in our Universe. The mission, principally based on a wide field of view (60 degrees) near-UV telescope with a diameter of ∼ 2.5 m, will monitor the earth’s atmosphere at night, pioneering the observation from space of the ultraviolet tracks (290-430 nm) associated with giant extensive air showers produced by ultra-high energy primaries propagating in the earth’s atmosphere. Observing from an orbital altitude of ∼ 400 km, the mission is expected to reach an instantaneous geometrical aperture of A g e o ≥ 2 × 105 km2 sr with an estimated duty cycle of ∼ 20 %. Such a geometrical aperture allows unprecedented exposures, significantly larger than can be obtained with ground-based experiments. In this paper we briefly review the history of space-based search for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We then introduce the special issue of Experimental Astronomy devoted to the various aspects of such a challenging enterprise. We also summarise the activities of the on-going JEM-EUSO program.

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) for high-energy astroparticle physics on the International Space Station

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is a space experiment, currently under development by Japan in collaboration with Italy and the United States, which will measure the flux of cosmic-ray electrons (and positrons) up to 20 TeV energy, of gamma rays up to 10 TeV, of nuclei with Z from 1 to 40 up to 1 PeV energy, and will detect gamma-ray bursts in the 7 keV to 20 MeV energy range during a 5 year mission. These measurements are essential to investigate possible nearby astrophysical sources of high energy electrons, study the details of galactic particle propagation and search for dark matter signatures. The main detector of CALET, the Calorimeter, consists of a module to identify the particle charge, followed by a thin imaging calorimeter (3 radiation lengths) with tungsten plates interleaving scintillating fibre planes, and a thick energy measuring calorimeter (27 radiation lengths) composed of lead tungstate logs. The Calorimeter has the depth, imaging capabilities and energy resolution necessary for excellent separation between hadrons, electrons and gamma rays. The instrument is currently being prepared for launch (expected in 2015) to the International Space Station ISS, for installation on the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposure Facility (JEM-EF).

Performances of JEM–EUSO: energy and X max reconstruction

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) on–board the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) of the International Space Station aims at the detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays from space. The mission consists of a UV telescope which will detect the fluorescence light emitted by cosmic ray showers in the atmosphere. The mission, currently developed by a large international collaboration, is designed to be launched within this decade. In this article, we present the reconstruction of the energy of the observed events and we also address the X max reconstruction. After discussing the algorithms developed for the energy and X max reconstruction, we present several estimates of the energy resolution, as a function of the incident angle, and energy of the event. Similarly, estimates of the X max resolution for various conditions are presented.

Transition to chaotic thermocapillary convection in a half zone liquid bridge

A series of fluid physics microgravity experiments with an enough long run time were performed in the “KIBO,” the Japanese Experiment Module aboard the International Space Station, to examine the transition to chaos of the thermocapillary convection in a half zone liquid bridge of silicone oil with a Prandtl number of 112. The temperature difference between the coaxial disks induced the thermocapillary-driven flow, and we experimentally demonstrated that the flow fields underwent a transition from steady flow to oscillatory flow, and finally to chaotic flow with increasing temperature difference. We obtained the surface temperature time series at the middle of the liquid bridge to quantitatively evaluate the transition process of the flow fields. By Fourier analysis, we further confirmed that the flow fields changed from a periodic, to a quasi-periodic, and finally to a chaotic state. The increasing nonlinearity with the development of the flow fields was confirmed by time-series chaos analysis. The determined Lyapunov exponent and the translation error indicated that the flow fields made transition to the chaotic field with the increasing temperature difference.

Overview and early results of the Global Lightning and Sprite Measurements mission

AbstractGlobal Lightning and Sprite Measurements on Japanese Experiment Module (JEM‐GLIMS) is a space mission to conduct the nadir observations of lightning discharges and transient luminous events (TLEs). The main objectives of this mission are to identify the horizontal distribution of TLEs and to solve the occurrence conditions determining the spatial distribution. JEM‐GLIMS was successfully launched and started continuous nadir observations in 2012. The global distribution of the detected lightning events shows that most of the events occurred over continental regions in the local summer hemisphere. In some events, strong far‐ultraviolet emissions have been simultaneously detected with N2 1P and 2P emissions by the spectrophotometers, which strongly suggest the occurrence of TLEs. Especially, in some of these events, no significant optical emission was measured by the narrowband filter camera, which suggests the occurrence of elves, not sprites. The VLF receiver also succeeded in detecting lightning whistlers, which show clear falling‐tone frequency dispersion. Based on the optical data, the time delay from the detected lightning emission to the whistlers was identified as ∼10 ms, which can be reasonably explained by the wave propagation with the group velocity of whistlers. The VHF interferometer conducted the spaceborne interferometric observations and succeeded in detecting VHF pulses. We observed that the VHF pulses are likely to be excited by the lightning discharge possibly related with in‐cloud discharges and measured with the JEM‐GLIMS optical instruments. Thus, JEM‐GLIMS provides the first full set of optical and electromagnetic data of lightning and TLEs obtained by nadir observations from space.

Bubble-detector measurements of neutron radiation in the international space station: ISS-34 to ISS-37.

Bubble detectors have been used to characterise the neutron dose and energy spectrum in several modules of the International Space Station (ISS) as part of an ongoing radiation survey. A series of experiments was performed during the ISS-34, ISS-35, ISS-36 and ISS-37 missions between December 2012 and October 2013. The Radi-N2 experiment, a repeat of the 2009 Radi-N investigation, included measurements in four modules of the US orbital segment: Columbus, the Japanese experiment module, the US laboratory and Node 2. The Radi-N2 dose and spectral measurements are not significantly different from the Radi-N results collected in the same ISS locations, despite the large difference in solar activity between 2009 and 2013. Parallel experiments using a second set of detectors in the Russian segment of the ISS included the first characterisation of the neutron spectrum inside the tissue-equivalent Matroshka-R phantom. These data suggest that the dose inside the phantom is ∼70% of the dose at its surface, while the spectrum inside the phantom contains a larger fraction of high-energy neutrons than the spectrum outside the phantom. The phantom results are supported by Monte Carlo simulations that provide good agreement with the empirical data.

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) for high-energy astroparticle physics on the International Space Station

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is a space experiment, currently under development by Japan in collaboration with Italy and the United States, which will measure the flux of cosmic-ray electrons (and positrons) up to 20 TeV energy, of gamma rays up to 10 TeV, of nuclei with Z from 1 to 40 up to 1 PeV energy, and will detect gamma-ray bursts in the 7 keV to 20 MeV energy range during a 5 year mission. These measurements are essential to investigate possible nearby astrophysical sources of high energy electrons, study the details of galactic particle propagation and search for dark matter signatures. The main detector of CALET, the Calorimeter, consists of a module to identify the particle charge, followed by a thin imaging calorimeter (3 radiation lengths) with tungsten plates interleaving scintillating fibre planes, and a thick energy measuring calorimeter (27 radiation lengths) composed of lead tungstate logs. The Calorimeter has the depth, imaging capabilities and energy resolution necessary for excellent separation between hadrons, electrons and gamma rays. The instrument is currently being prepared for launch (expected in 2015) to the International Space Station ISS, for installation on the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposure Facility (JEM-EF).

C02 親子分離衛星「STARS-C」の構造設計と姿勢ダイナミクス(小型衛星)

Including the development of the International Space Station, space development, such as launch its own satellite in each country it is developed. Among them, ultra-small satellite than artificial satellite ever be developed and manufactured at low cost and short period of time, observations and satellite - is attracting attention as a method of a new space development by possible communication between the grounding. By space development has become familiar, in the universities and technical colleges began to research and development of ultra-small satellites are actively carried out. This time, Nohmi laboratory at the University, a member consisting Yamagiwa laboratory, to develop the ultra-small satellite "STARS-C" project was started. This project was selected in chance of being released from the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" of the International Space Station that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been public offering. Stars-C to be launched this time, is composed of two satellites (2U) ultra-small satellite of each 10cm class. The mechanism, after release, two satellites which are coupled to separate between the universe, the mounted tether simultaneously to 100m extended to control the attitude. It should be noted that with such a mechanism, contained the device to the 10cm class, and it is very difficult to assemble. Or more than, I development of the above mechanism, the device rests housing of the design, and performed the evaluation. Also, we have to simulate the behavior of the universe in consideration of the attitude control of the satellite.

What can Jaxa do to Reduce Human Errors for Safety & Mission Success?

ABSTRACT In 2008, JEM (Japanese Experiment Module) started on orbit operations. Since then, JAXA has conducted numbers of experiments and achieved numerous scientific goals. Meanwhile, numbers of hardware or software failures and human errors caused by astronauts or ground operators occurred which resulted in scientific loss. JAXA Human Space Safety and Mission Assurance Office (JAXA SM Improper Mating of Power Cable.

The JEM-EUSO mission: a space observatory to study the origin of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) onboard the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) of the International Space Station (ISS) is an innovative space-based mission with the aim of detecting Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) from the ISS, by using the Earth's atmosphere as a calorimeter viewed by a fluorescence telescope. An observatory able to produce an arrival direction map with more than several hundreds events above 5 × 1019 eV would give important information on the origin of the UHECRs and identify structures in the sky map that contain information about the source density and/or distribution. This is likely to lead to an understanding of the acceleration mechanisms with a high potential for producing discoveries in astrophysics and/or fundamental physics. The scientific motivations of the mission as well as the current development status of the instrument and its performance are reviewed.

The JEM-EUSO instrument

In this paper we describe the main characteristics of the JEM-EUSO instrument. The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) of the International Space Station (ISS) will observe Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) from space. It will detect UV-light of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) produced by UHECRs traversing the Earth’s atmosphere. For each event, the detector will determine the energy, arrival direction and the type of the primary particle. The advantage of a space-borne detector resides in the large field of view, using a target volume of about 1012 tons of atmosphere, far greater than what is achievable from ground. Another advantage is a nearly uniform sampling of the whole celestial sphere. The corresponding increase in statistics will help to clarify the origin and sources of UHECRs and characterize the environment traversed during their production and propagation. JEM-EUSO is a 1.1 ton refractor telescope using an optics of 2.5 m diameter Fresnel lenses to focus the UV-light from EAS on a focal surface composed of about 5,000 multi-anode photomultipliers, for a total of ≃3⋅105 channels. A multi-layer parallel architecture handles front-end acquisition, selecting and storing valid triggers. Each processing level filters the events with increasingly complex algorithms using FPGAs and DSPs to reject spurious events and reduce the data rate to a value compatible with downlink constraints.

Low-voltage Power Supply Subsystem for a Sub-Orbital Particle Physic Instrument

The Japanese Experiment Module–Extreme Universe Space Observatory (JEM-EUSO) is a wide-field (+/-~30°of aperture) 2.5m refractor telescope to be installed in the International Space Station (ISS). The instrument looks downward from its orbit, into Earth’s atmosphere, with the main objective of observing ultra-violet (UV) fluorescence light generated by Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) extensive air showers (EAS). It is a frontier particle-physics experiment, the first of its kind. The validation of the technical readiness level of such a complex and unique instrument requires prototypes at several levels of integration. At the highest level, the EUSO-Balloon instrument has been conceived, through French space agency (CNES). At a smaller scale and in suborbital flight, EUSO-Balloon integrates all the sub-systems of the full space JEM-EUSO telescope, allowing end-to-end testing of hardware and interfaces, and to probing the global detection chain and strategy, while improving at the same time our knowledge of atmospheric and terrestrial UV background. EUSO-Balloon will be flown by CNES for the first time from Timmins, Canada; on spring 2014.This article presents the low-voltage power supply (LVPS) subsystem development for the EUSO-Balloon instrument. This LVPS is the fully operational prototype for the space instrument JEM-EUSO. Besides design and construction, all performance tests and integration results with the other involved subsystems are shown.

The infrared camera onboard JEM-EUSO

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) on board the International Space Station (ISS) is the first space-based mission worldwide in the field of Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). For UHECR experiments, the atmosphere is not only the showering calorimeter for the primary cosmic rays, it is an essential part of the readout system, as well. Moreover, the atmosphere must be calibrated and has to be considered as input for the analysis of the fluorescence signals. Therefore, the JEM-EUSO Space Observatory is implementing an Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS) that will include an IR-Camera and a LIDAR. The AMS Infrared Camera is an infrared, wide FoV, imaging system designed to provide the cloud coverage along the JEM-EUSO track and the cloud top height to properly achieve the UHECR reconstruction in cloudy conditions. In this paper, an updated preliminary design status, the results from the calibration tests of the first prototype, the simulation of the instrument, and preliminary cloud top height retrieval algorithms are presented.

A Bayesian self-clustering analysis of the highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

Cosmic rays (CRs) are protons and atomic nuclei that flow into our Solar system and reach the Earth with energies of up to ~10^21 eV. The sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with E >~ 10^19 eV remain unknown, although there are theoretical reasons to think that at least some come from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). One way to assess the different hypotheses is by analysing the arrival directions of UHECRs, in particular their self-clustering. We have developed a fully Bayesian approach to analyzing the self-clustering of points on the sphere, which we apply to the UHECR arrival directions. The analysis is based on a multi-step approach that enables the application of Bayesian model comparison to cases with weak prior information. We have applied this approach to the 69 highest energy events recorded by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO), which is the largest current UHECR data set. We do not detect self-clustering, but simulations show that this is consistent with the AGN-sourced model for a data set of this size. Data sets of several hundred UHECRs would be sufficient to detect clustering in the AGN model. Samples of this magnitude are expected to be produced by future experiments, such as the Japanese Experiment Module Extreme Universe Space Observatory (JEM-EUSO).

Highlights of the NASA Particle Astrophysics Program

The NASA Particle Astrophysics Program covers Origin of the Elements, Nearest Sources of Cosmic Rays, How Cosmic Particle Accelerators Work, The Nature of Dark Matter, and Neutrino Astrophysics. Progress in each of these topics has come from sophisticated instrumentation flown on long duration balloon (LDB) flights around Antarctica over the past two decades. New opportunities including Super Pressure Balloons (SPB) and International Space Station (ISS) platforms are emerging for the next major step. Stable altitudes and long durations enabled by SPB flights ensure ultra-long duration balloon (ULDB) missions that can open doors to new science opportunities. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) has been operating on the ISS since May 2011. The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) and Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiments are being developed for launch to the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) in 2014. And, the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) is planned for launch to the ISS JEM-EF after 2017. Collectively, these four complementary ISS missions covering a large portion of the cosmic ray energy spectrum serve as a cosmic ray observatory.

The JEM-EUSO observation in cloudy conditions

The JEM-EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory on-board the Japanese Experiment Module) mission will conduct extensive air shower (EAS) observations on the International Space Station (ISS). Following the ISS orbit, JEM-EUSO will experience continuous changes in the atmospheric conditions, including cloud presence. The influence of clouds on space-based observation is, therefore, an important topic to investigate from both EAS property and cloud climatology points of view. In the present work, the impact of clouds on the apparent profile of EAS is demonstrated through the simulation studies, taking into account the JEM-EUSO instrument and properties of the clouds. These results show a dependence on the cloud-top altitude and optical depth of the cloud. The analyses of satellite measurements on the cloud distribution indicate that more than 60 % of the cases allow for conventional EAS observation, and an additional ∼20 % with reduced quality. The combination of the relevant factors results in an effective trigger aperture of EAS observation ∼72 %, compared to the one in the clear atmosphere condition.

Remote sensing of selected water-quality indicators with the hyperspectral imager for the coastal ocean (HICO) sensor

The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) offers the coastal environmental monitoring community an unprecedented opportunity to observe changes in coastal and estuarine water quality across a range of spatial scales not feasible with traditional field-based monitoring or existing ocean colour satellites. HICO, an Office of Naval Research-sponsored programme, is the first space-based maritime hyperspectral imaging instrument designed specifically for the coastal ocean. HICO has been operating since September 2009 from the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility on the International Space Station (ISS). The high pixel resolution (approximately 95 m at nadir) and hyperspectral imaging capability offer a unique opportunity for characterizing a wide range of water colour constituents that could be used to assess environmental condition. In this study, we transform atmospherically corrected ISS/HICO hyperspectral imagery and derive environmental response variables routinely used for evaluating the environmental condition of coastal ecosystem resources. Using atmospherically corrected HICO imagery and a comprehensive field validation programme, three regionally specific algorithms were developed to estimate basic water-quality properties traditionally measured by monitoring agencies. Results indicated that a three-band chlorophyll a algorithm performed best (R2 = 0.62) when compared with in situ measurement data collected 2–4 hours of HICO acquisitions. Coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) (R2 = 0.93) and turbidity (R2 = 0.67) were also highly correlated. The distributions of these water-quality indicators were mapped for four estuaries along the northwest coast of Florida from April 2010 to May 2012. However, before the HICO sensor can be transitioned from proof-of-concept to operational status and its data applied to benefit decisions made by coastal managers, problems with vicarious calibration of the sensor need to be resolved and standardized protocols are required for atmospheric correction. Ideally, the sensor should be placed on a polar orbiting platform for greater spatial and temporal coverage as well as for image synchronization with field validation efforts.

The data processor of the EUSO-Balloon experiment

The JEM-EUSO instrument is a wide-angle refractive telescope in near-ultraviolet wavelength region being proposed for attachment to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) onboard International Space Station (ISS). The main scientific goal of the mission is the study of Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) above 5 × 1019 eV. The instrument consists of high transmittance optical Fresnel lenses with a diameter of 2.5 m, a focal surface covered by ∼ 5000 Multi Anode Photo Multiplier Tubes of 64 pixels, front-end readout, trigger and system electronics.The EUSO-Balloon experiment is a pathfinder mission in which a telescope of smaller dimension than the one designed for the ISS will be mounted onboard a stratospheric balloon. The main objective of this pathfinder mission, planned for 2014, is to perform a full scale end-to-end test of all the key technologies and instrumentation of JEM-EUSO detectors and to prove the global detection chain. Furthermore, EUSO-Balloon will measure the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background components, in different observational modes, fundamental for the development of the simulations. Through a series of stratospheric balloon flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers from above, paving the way for any future large scale, space-based EECR observatory.In this paper we will present the Data Processor (DP) of EUSO-Balloon, which is the component of the Electronics System which performs the data management and the instrument control. More in detail, the DP controls the front-end electronics, performs the 2nd level trigger filtering, tags events with arrival time and payload position through a GPS system, manages the Mass Memory for data storage, measures live and dead time of the telescope, provides signals for time synchronization of the event, performs housekeeping monitor, and handles the interface to the telemetry system. The DP has to operate at high altitude in unpressurized environment, and this represents a technological challenge for heat dissipation. We will describe the main components of the system, the state-of-the-art and the results of the tests carried out.