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Before & After Satellite Photos of Haneda Runway on the Sea Taken by JAXA’s “Daichi”

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JAXA’s Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) “Daichi”　Photo=JAXA

Satellite photos of Haneda Airport’s new runway published on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, based in Chofu, Tokyo Prefecture) website since November have been drawing attention.

The photos are posted at the website’s “Images & Data: Seen From Space” page, showing the new Runway D, currently under construction off the shore of Haneda Airport Island, before and after it was present. JAXA’s Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) “Daichi” took the photos in January 2008 and September 2009, showing the same area before and after the runway’s island appeared on the seawater. There is also information on the surrounding area and detailed images for making comparisons. Due to the extremely high resolution, the positions of ships operating on the waters around the runway’s island can also be discerned.

“Daichi” is the most advanced class of land observation satellites and was launched in January 2006. According to JAXA, it is equipped with advanced observation sensors called AVNIR-2 (Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2) and PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping), and it is capable of a resolution that can discern objects on land as small as 2.5 meters and reproducing colors roughly the same as would the naked eye.

* As of the time this article was written, the photos have not appeared at JAXA’s English website.

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