Observing the water now and the future

SHIZUKU, one of the “Global Change Observation Mission”, was developed to discover the water circulation mechanisms of Earth. It observes precipitation, vapor amounts, wind velocity above the ocean, sea water temperature, water levels on land areas and snow depths.
Data obtained from SHIZUKU is utilized for weather forecasts and ocean status bulletins, and is also very useful in our daily lives.
SHIZUKU can observe over 99％ of the Earth’s area in just 2 days and can tell us the water condition of the Earth.
In February, 2017, SHIZUKU revealed the declining trend of the Earth’s sea ice in both the North and South Pole by observing the minimum size of the globe’s entire sea ice.
SHIZUKU was launched on May18, 2012 with H-IIA 21 launched vehicle.

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