π°οΈ Japanese Remote Sensing Satellites Overview
π What's special about Japan?
Japan masters disaster monitoring: L-band SAR sees landslides and quakes through vegetation; free ASTER data is a classic for mineral prospecting. New QPS-SAR and StriX fleets cut revisit to hours β watching disaster zones at night and in rain.
ποΈ Japanese satellite table (click headers to sort)
π‘ Click Name / Launch date / Resolution to toggle sorting. Smaller = sharper.
| Name β | Launch date β | Band count | Resolution β | Main uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JERS-1 | 1992-02-11 | 8 optical + SAR | 18m | Resources, SAR pioneer |
| ASTER (on Terra) | 1999-12-18 | 14 bands | 15m | Geology, free data |
| ALOS Daichi | 2006-01-24 | 4 optical + SAR | 2.5m | National mapping, disasters |
| ASNARO-1 | 2014-11-06 | 6 bands | 0.5m | Commercial 0.5m cities/ports |
| ALOS-2 Daichi-2 | 2014-05-24 | SAR (L-band) | 1m | L-band disasters, InSAR |
| QPS-SAR fleet | 2019-12-11 | SAR (X-band) | 0.9m | 36-sat fleet, fast revisit |
| StriX fleet | 2020-12-15 | SAR (X-band) | 1m | Commercial SAR, subsidence |
| ALOS-3 Daichi-3 | 2023-03-07 | 6 bands | 0.8m | 0.8m wide-area optical |
| ALOS-4 Daichi-4 | 2024-07-01 | SAR (L-band) | 3m | 200km-wide disaster watch |
π Charts: half optical, half SAR
πΌοΈ HD imagery showcase
Stylized previews of typical Japanese imagery. For real HD samples, use βSamplesβ below.
ASNARO-1 Β· 0.5m city blocks
ASTER Β· volcanic alteration (multi-band)
ALOS-2 Β· flood SAR through clouds
π°οΈ Satellite image object recognition
Japanese imagery also powers automatic detection. Tap an icon to open each topic:
π‘ Which satellite to choose? 3 quick tips
β For free geology data β ASTER; β‘ for deformation through clouds β ALOS-2 / ALOS-4 (L-band); β’ for 0.5β1m frequent commercial shots β ASNARO, QPS-SAR, StriX. Message us for a free recommendation.