Advanced Land Observing Satellite

<h2 id="launch">Launch</h2>
ALOS was launched from <a href="/facts/Tanegashima/NKd6EV6K">Tanegashima</a>, Japan, on 24 January 2006 by <a href="/facts/H-IIA/W9Q48DHS">H-IIA</a> No. 8. The launch had been delayed three times by weather and sensor problems.

<h2 id="mission">Mission</h2>
The satellite contained three sensors that were used for cartography and disaster monitoring of <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a> and the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (<a href="/facts/JAXA/ofUpflgf">JAXA</a>) initially hoped to be able to launch the successor to ALOS during 2011, but this plan did not materialize.
In 2008, it was announced that the images generated by ALOS were too blurry to be of any use for map making. Only 52 of 4,300 images of Japan could be updated based on data from ALOS.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1">1</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> Then, JAXA announced the problem was solved.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>
ALOS was used to analyze several disaster sites.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> Images of the devastated Japanese coast following the <a href="/facts/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami/pyIXeVlS">2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami</a> were among the last major contributions from ALOS.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>

<h2 id="decommissioning">Decommissioning</h2>

In April 2011, the satellite was found to have switched itself into power-saving mode due to deterioration of its solar arrays.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> Technicians could no longer confirm that any power was being generated. It was suggested that <a href="/facts/Meteoroid/5PexF2mR">meteoroids</a> may have struck ALOS, creating the anomaly which eventually led to its shutdown.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>
On 12 May 2011, JAXA sent a command to the satellite to power down its batteries and declared it dead in orbit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li>Spaceflight portal</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/2006_in_spaceflight/LglXDE93">2006 in spaceflight</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/ADEOS_I/VEXHJ5xC">ADEOS I</a>, <a href="/facts/JERS-1/0HRq2Uf3">JERS-1</a> (predecessor spacecraft)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/ALOS-2/etJbsDtD">ALOS-2</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Japan_Coast_Guard/r6JRq5fA">Japan Coast Guard</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXV/congress/comm1/papers/57.pdf">Paper on ALOS</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Japanese satellite flops at map-making: official". 8 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110520115235/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iq_BbE3WwyCvOmxfWDvfSJzXlg" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110520115235/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iq_BbE3WwyCvOmxfWDvfSJzXlg</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Utilization of Data Acquired by "DAICHI"" (PDF). 16 January 2008. <a href="http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/01/20080116_sac_daichi_e.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/01/20080116_sac_daichi_e.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"陸域観測技術衛星「だいち」データの地図への利用に関する改善状況について". 9 April 2008. <a href="http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/04/20080409_sac_daichi_j.html" target="_blank">http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2008/04/20080409_sac_daichi_j.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"ALOS (Daichi) observes Landslide in Leyte Island, Philippines". Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. 2 March 2006. <a href="http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/earthview/2006/tp060302.html" target="_blank">http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/earthview/2006/tp060302.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"Continuous monitoring of landslides area caused by Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake in 2008 using ALOS images" (PDF). <a href="http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/xxxviii/part8/pdf/JTS32_20100307155923.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/xxxviii/part8/pdf/JTS32_20100307155923.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Latin America Volcano Monitoring With ALOS". Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130728155910/http://www.asf.alaska.edu/news_notes/6-1/latin-america-volcano-monitoring-alos" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130728155910/http://www.asf.alaska.edu/news_notes/6-1/latin-america-volcano-monitoring-alos</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Japanese Satellite Declared Dead in Orbit". SPACE.com. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2013. <a href="http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html" target="_blank">http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"Advanced Land Observing Satellite "DAICHI" (ALOS) Topics:Last thank-you message to DAICHI from Japan Coast Guard". JAXA. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2023. <a href="https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/alos/topics.html" target="_blank">https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/alos/topics.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"Japanese Satellite Declared Dead in Orbit". SPACE.com. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2013. <a href="http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html" target="_blank">http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Satellite Imaging Corporation, ALOS Satellite Sensor (2.5m) Accessed 15 September 2015 <a href="https://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/other-satellite-sensors/alos/" target="_blank">https://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/other-satellite-sensors/alos/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Japanese Satellite Declared Dead in Orbit". SPACE.com. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2013. <a href="http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html" target="_blank">http://www.space.com/11653-japanese-satellite-declared-dead-daichi.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"DAICHI (ALOS) Operation Completion". JAXA. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121018125703/http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/05/20110512_daichi_e.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20121018125703/http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/05/20110512_daichi_e.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Advanced Land Observing Satellite "DAICHI" (ALOS) Topics:Last thank-you message to DAICHI from Japan Coast Guard". JAXA. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2023. <a href="https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/alos/topics.html" target="_blank">https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/alos/topics.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Advanced Land Observing Satellite open-in-new

Advanced Land Observing Satellite