Through analysis of observation data, JLPEDA supports the investigations conducted in a variety of JAXA projects and missions. These are missions we have been supporting.

Lunar Polar Exploration

The objectives of the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission include searching for potentially usable sources of water on the Moon. At JLPEDA, we utilize a vast amount of data totaling in the dozens of terabytes (TB) to support the mission by analyzing factors such as sunlight, earth visibility, and slope which are needed for choosing landing sites and subsequent exploration by the rover.

JSEC WEB SITE link

SLIM

The SLIM Project is a plan for testing high-precision landing technologies needed for future lunar and planetary exploration on the SLIM small-scale exploration lander. At JLPEDA, we are analyzing factors such as the geology and slope in SLIM landing locations to assist in selecting landing spots.

PORJECT WEB SITE link

Hayabusa2

Hayabusa2 is a sample-return mission to asteroid Ryugu. At JLPEDA, we are supporting this mission by developing various types of software (developing image search systems, developing a false coloration for images, etc.).

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OMOTENASHI

OMOTENASHI is a CubeSat to be loaded onto a NASA SLS rocket planned for launch from 2020 onward. With a total mass of 12.6 kg and 6U size, its aim is to land on the Moon’s surface. At JLPEDA, we provided a horizons database from all potential landing points divided into 100 meter intervals in order to verify whether there are mountain ranges or other obstacles that could impede OMOTENASHI’s landing trajectory.

PROJECT WEB SITE link

Crewed Pressurized Rover

Exploration covering a wide area of the Moon’s surface is planned in the crewed pressurized rover mission. At JLPEDA, we are utilizing the results of sunlight and slope analysis on the Moon’s surface to plan paths hundreds of kilometers in length that will connect multiple investigation sites. We are assisting in the pressurized rover’s design by extracting chronological data of sunlight in the paths and analyzing the profiles of the slopes.

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APPROACH

For the APPROACH Mission which was submitted as the successor to LUNAR-A, we provided GIS maps that combine lunar rock mass coverage data with high-resolution images to identify boulders. These maps are necessary for calculating the penetration success probability of the penetrator. We also provided probability calculation methods.

MMX

In the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX: Martian Moons eXploration) mission, we plan to extract samples from one of Mars’s moons, Phobos. At JLPEDA, we are performing analyses on the slopes, elevations, and gravitational acceleration on the surface of Phobos and providing information to aid in the selection of landing sites.

PROJECT WEB SITE link

HERACLES

HERACLES is an international space exploration program to demonstrate lunar takeoff and landing technologies. At JLPEDA, we provided topography and slope data from the Moon’s surface to the HERACLES investigation team to help them study landing and takeoff sites and possibilities for driving the rover.

JSEC WEB SITE link

We perform higher-level processing on exploration data obtained from Japanese and international missions as we create products and perform data analysis that contribute to research aimed at elucidating the origins and evolution of moons and planets.

Lunar Pole Maps

We create multiple wavelength radar maps and geologic maps of the area surrounding the Lunar south pole.

Estimating Lunar Surface Temperatures

We use visualizations of observation data and numerical simulations to produce surface temperature estimates to figure out the surface temperature of the Moon.

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Lunar Subsurface Structure Estimations

We convert observation data from the Lunar Radar Sounder onboard the KAGUYA satellite from binary to text. Plus, we also investigate spatial distribution by identifying reflected waves from hundreds of meters below the surface of the lunar mere regions and sensing the depth of the reflecting surface underground.

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We conduct joint research with the University of Aizu and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) on methods to analyze exploration data using machine learning. Through these efforts, analyses that previously had to be done manually by experts can now be conducted on big data and on a large scale.

Detecting Boulders on the Moon’s Surface with AI

Using a deep learning image classification model (CNN), we aim to automatically detect large masses of rock referred to as boulders on the Moon’s surface. Boulders on the Moon’s surface are obstacles that make it hard for probes to land and rovers to drive.

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Moon Surface Shadow Detection
via AI

We are investigating methods to automatically detect shadows from images of the Moon’s surface. This makes it possible to automatically exclude shadowed regions and identify hard-to-find dark mantle deposits (DMDs) scattered about the Moon’s surface when conducting scientific research using vast amounts of moon surface observation data.

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Path Planning

Sunlight and earth visibility conditions at the lunar poles are continuously changing in time. To plan out paths in this ever-changing environment, we utilize the results of various analyses on exploration data to search out routes.

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We develop and operate websites for using maps to search, view, and acquire observation data of the Moon and other celestial objects obtained from JAXA’s scientific satellites.

KADIAS

An online system for analyzing and downloading observation data obtained from lunar orbiter KAGUYA using a geographic information system.

PROJECT WEB SITE link

JADE

An online system that can search, display, and download image data from asteroid Ryugu observed by the Optical Navigation Camera (ONC) onboard Hayabusa2.

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JAXA Virtual Planet

An online system for analyzing observation data obtained from lunar orbiter KAGUYA using a geographic information system.

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