ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite)

Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)

A Japanese satellite designed to observe and map Earth's surface, to enhance cartography, monitor natural disasters, and survey land use and natural resources to promote sustainable development. The four-ton ALOS follows JERS and ADEOS, and will extend the database of these earlier satellites using three remote-sensing instruments: the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) for digital elevation mapping, the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) for precise land coverage observation, and the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) for day-and-night and all-weather land observation.

ALOS had been scheduled for deployment in 2003; however, the failure of a number of recent Japanese satellite launches led to various delays. ALOS was eventually launched by an H-2A rocket from Tanegashima on Jan. 24, 2006.

External site

ALOS page at JAXA website

Related categories

   • SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES
   • JAPANESE SPACECRAFT
   • JAPAN IN SPACE

Also on this site:

Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living
Encyclopedia of History

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