Launch date set for Japanese planetary spectroscopic observatory

The Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere, known as SPRINT-A, will be launched from the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan on August 22, 2013, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced. It will be the first space telescope designed to study the atmospheres of planets such as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter from its orbit around Earth. Fitted with an extreme UV imaging spectrometer, one of the key objectives will be to determine the different mechanisms by which these planets lose their atmospheres into space.

A second objective is to study energy transfer in the plasma region around Io, the Jovian satellite, using the extreme UV light that is emitted.

In an exciting development designed to engage the public, JAXA also invited people to submit their own messages which will be posted on the launch vehicle Epsilon-1. Over four weeks, a total of 5,812 messages were received, comprising 5,360 in Japanese and 452 in other languages.