Rendering of Mitsubishi Electric’s GOSAT 2 satellite in orbit. Photo: Mitsubishi Electric

[Via Satellite 04-11-2014] Mitsubishi Electric signed a contract to begin development on the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite 2 (GOSAT 2) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). GOSAT 2 will have a variety of advanced features, such as greenhouse gas and cloud/aerosol sensors. The satellite will deliver information to contribute to Japan’s Proactive Diplomatic Strategy for Countering Global Warming, which was announced at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference last year.

The satellite will be in sun-synchronous sub-recurrent orbit, with a design life of five years. This is the second greenhouse gas monitoring satellite designed and developed by Mitsubishi Electric, as they built the first GOSAT satellite, also known as IBUKI.

The information collected by IBUKI is open to government institutions, scientists and online registered individuals. The data will be used to judge the distribution of carbon dioxide and methane gases, and the distribution of how these gases vary by season, year and location.