missions

GOSAT-GW (IBUKI GW)

Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-14. Not independently verified by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

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GOSAT-GW, also known as IBUKI GW (Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle), is a JAXA-operated Earth observation mission designed to monitor atmospheric greenhouse gases and the water cycle. It is the third flight unit of the GOSAT programme, following GOSAT and GOSAT-2.^[1]

The satellite was launched on 2025-06-29 by H-IIA from Tanegashima Space Center. JAXA and NIES report the launch as 2025-06-29 in local time (JST); the WMO OSCAR record lists 2025-06-28 UTC.^[1]^[2] As of mid-2026 the satellite was in the commissioning phase. AMSR3 began collecting verification observations on 2025-08-11.^[3]

GOSAT-GW flies in a sun-synchronous orbit at 666 km altitude with a 13:30 local time ascending node and a 3-day repeat cycle.^[2] Its two main instruments are the TANSO-3 grating imaging spectrometer, which measures CO2, CH4 and other greenhouse gases in wide and focus observation modes, and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 3 (AMSR3), a passive microwave radiometer for precipitation, sea-surface temperature, sea ice, and water vapour observations.^[1]^[4]

Full specification

All fields

current status	commissioning
operator	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
launch vehicle	jaxa-h-iia
Launched	2025-06-29
orbit type	Sun-synchronous orbit, 666 km altitude, 13:30 ascending equator crossing time
revisit days	3
tasking supported	true
current geographic priority	Global greenhouse-gas and water-cycle observations, with TANSO-3 wide and focus modes and AMSR3 microwave imagery.
Last updated	2026-06-14
claim status	agency-sourced

Where this fits, supply chain

Compositional position

this ——— Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 3 (AMSR3) payload

this ——— Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3) payload

this ——— Greenhouse gas inventory related-topic

this ——— Methane (CH4) related-topic

this ——— CO2 related-topic

this ——— Sea surface temperature related-topic

Multi-frequency microwave imaging radiometry → demonstrated Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 3 (AMSR3)

SWIR absorption - global screening → demonstrated Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3)

Tropospheric column mapping (NO2/SO2) → demonstrated Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3)

Sources

[1]NIES GOSAT-GW spacecraft and instrumentsagency doc2026-06-14
[2]JAXA early observation results of AMSR3 onboard GOSAT-GWagency doc2026-06-14
[3]GOSAT-GW, WMO OSCAR satellite recordcommunity2026-06-14
[4]The greenhouse gas observation mission with GOSAT-GWpeer reviewed2026-06-14

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/missions/gosat-gw Markdown twin → Field definitions → Suggest a correction →