A small, autonomous, distributed environmental sensor developed by TEAM SPACE LIFE, an official project of Gundam Open Innovation (GOI), a sustainable program promoted by the Bandai Namco Group, was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:15 pm on April 21st, Japan time. The sensor will be transported to the International Space Station (ISS) by commercial transport aircraft and then undergo an in-orbit demonstration inside the ship.
"GOI" is a program with the theme of "Gundam x Future Technology" that was launched in 2021. 15 companies and organizations that were selected through public recruitment are participating. "TEAM SPACE LIFE" is centered around the Tokyo University of Science Space System Creative Research Center, and is composed of Takasago Thermal Engineering, International University of Health and Welfare Space Medical Research Association, NTT DATA SBC, avatarin, co-creation partners of the Yamato University Faculty of Sociology SDG Research Promotion Office, Manned Space Systems (JAMSS), and Riken Keiki, and is conducting research focusing on three technologies: realizing living space (space), controlling a comfortable environment (environment), and sustainable resource circulation (resources).
The launched sensor will be installed in the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on the International Space Station to collect data on the air environment. By using this basic data to improve the accuracy of the air environment model, it will be possible to more accurately predict air flow. It is expected that this technology will also lead to the realization of the space colonies that appear in the "Gundam" series.
