REPORT OF JAXA SPACE EDUCATION CENTERON ITS ACTIVITIES IN FY 2006 AND 2007
(Information as of March 2008)

TABLE OF CONTENTSI.

INTRODUCTION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥03

II.

BASIC FACTS OF THE CENTER ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥04
A. Establishment of the Center ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥04
B. Goals and principles ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥04
C. Organizational structure and major activities ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥06
D. Collaborations for space education ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥07

III. SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥09
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥09
B. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥010

IV. SUPPORT FOR INFORMAL EDUCATION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥15
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥15
B. Programme for young people: from kindergarten to high-school students ‥‥‥16
C. Programme for educators and instructors of space education ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥18
D. Achievements ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥20

V.

SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSITY AND GRADUATE STUDENTS ‥23
A. Background and strategies‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥23
B. Supporting space activities in Japan for university and graduate students ‥‥23
C. Providing education and training opportunities outside Japan ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥24

VI. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥26
A. Objectives and strategies ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥26
B. Strengthening cooperation with space-faring nations throughInternational Space Education Board ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥27
C. Focusing on children in Asia: Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum ‥‥‥28
D. Pursuing cooperation with developing countries outside Asia ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥31
E. Achievements: education materials resulting frominternational collaborations‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥34

VII. DISSMINATION OF INFORMATION ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥35
VIII. CONCLUDING REMARKS ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥36

I. INTRODUCTION
In a short time period following its establishment in May 2005,
Space Education Center of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) rapidly expanded its activities to reach out to more children,
to stimulate their embedded curiosity toward the nature, life and universe and inspire them to aim for higher goals in their lives.
Recognizing “space” as the unique source of interest, imaginationand inspiration, the Center has continued to promote the effective
use of space subject, materials and resources to stimulate interest in
the minds of young people in not only science and technology but
also many other aspects of human activities.
During its first year, the Space Education Center spent much of its
efforts in turning ideal goals into practical actions as well as defining and informing others of its principles and objectives while
responding to requests for support in education and outreach activities. The second year, from 2006 to 2007, could be marked as theyear for strategic development and consolidation of major activities,
in accordance with the articulated goals and principles.
This report reflects the results of the efforts made by the Space
Education Center during its second year, from 2006 to 2007, andindicates directions to be pursued in the coming year.

3II. BASIC FACTS OF THE CENTER
A. Establishment of the Center
The Space Education Center was established on 1 May 2005 by an
executive decision by its President and was officially opened on 19
May 2005 at Sagamihara Campus of JAXA.
Educational activities of JAXA had long been carried out as part of
Sagamihara Campus

the public relations and outreach activities. Those activities focusedon increasing public awareness and understanding of the work of
JAXA, highlighting societal benefits yielded by space activities,
with the aim of increasing public support for space activities as awhole.
The growing recognition of the fundamental difference between

Opening of the Space Education
Centerpublic outreach and education resulted in the establishment of a separate group dedicated to space education activities. Originally placed
within the Public Affairs Department, the space education groupcarried out those activities that would have positive impact on thegrowing-up process of children with the use of attractive spacematerials to stimulate their interest in science and other subjects
relating to their daily lives. The space education group served as apredecessor to the Space Education Center and, to some extent, laid
the foundation for the work of the Center.

B. Goals and principles
Space subjects, resources and materials inherently have uniquepower to attract young people’s attention, encourage them to take onchallenges and aim for higher goals. While the Space Education
Center aims to expand the pool of future space scientists and engineers by getting more young people interested in space subjects andpursuing career options in space-related areas, the Center considers
it as its unique, key mission to use space materials to have positive
impact on young people’s minds in their development process, toexpand their potential and help them become socially responsible
individuals.
There are a few principles that the Space Education Center follows
in its activities for young people to achieve its goals.
4The Center places importance on having the young people understand the thinking process behind what is acquired as knowledge.
The Center aims to take advantage of children’s simple curiosity
embedded in their minds toward the nature, life and environmentthat surrounds them and offers opportunities to experience the joy of
discovering and solving mysteries by themselves. In this process,the Center also aims to increase young people’s appreciation of science and technology and their capacity for logical thinking.
“Preciousness of life”, or “dignity of life”, is the most importantmessage that the Center endeavours to convey to young people.
The abundance of goods and services that meet various needs ofpeople in Japan might indicate the richness of the society. However,that may not necessarily be true if the minds of people, especially
young people, are taken into consideration. An increasing number ofyoung people in Japan have been observed to have little motivation
to do anything, to be pessimistic about their own future and even totreat people’s lives lightly and get involved in serious crimes. The
people involved in the establishment of the Space Education Center
became deeply concerned about those young people, and they wanted to do something about it.
Space subjects and materials were found to offer an excellent tool toinspire and motivate young people, to start gaining self-confidence
and aiming for higher goals in their lives. After learning that there
had been a lengthy chain of relays of one life to another before acertain life was born and that the lives on the Earth today had comea long way from pieces of galaxies and starts, many of the young
people who participated in education activities organized by JAXA
started to think deeply about the origin and evolution of lives.
By letting young people learn about the origin and evolution of theuniverse and life and showing how long we have been searching for
Earth-like planets, the Center aims to increase their appreciation of
all forms of lives on the Earth.
The spirit of “Never Give Up” is another important message that theCenter always emphasizes in its activities, as it is considered essential for anybody who wants to achieve something significant in thischallenging world. The history of space exploration is full of exam5

ples that show how important this spirit is.
Through its activities, the Center also guides young people to understand how important and how rewarding it is to be part of the society to build a better future together. No individual can carry out space
activities by themselves, but together, a large number of people withvarious backgrounds can even build global systems that could benefit large populations. The Center aims to increase young people’s
appreciation of the importance and the power of collective efforts
made toward common goals.
With the above goals and principles, the Center carries out its activities to help young people become full of curiosity, adventurous spirit
and craftsmanship, always aiming for the best in whatever they do.

C. Organizational structure and major activities
The Space Education Center consists of the Space Education Office,which serves as the implementing body of the Center, and a group of
experts who administratively belong to other offices and departments but have been appointed as technical advisers to assist in theplanning of the Center’s activities on a frequent basis. As of March
2008, the Space Education Office consists of about 20 staff members, including 6 regular staff and 12 invited or contracted staff.
The Center carries out the following four major activities:i)school education support, to assist teachers and schools incarrying out classroom activities using space materials as
part of formal education;ii)

informal education support, to organize various educational events to offer opportunities to learn about space subjects and to participate in hands-on activities; this includes
providing support to space activities by university andgraduate students in Japaniii) international activities, to promote and support space education activities outside Japan through collaborations withother countries and international organizations; including
programs to send university and graduate students to participate in international meetings and education programs
abroad in space areas;iv) information dissemination, to distribute publications, edu6

cation materials and other products of the Center and to
inform the public of its activities mainly through Internetbased services.

D. Collaborations for space education
Other offices and departments of JAXA have also been carrying out
activities that have educational elements, and the Space Education
Center collaborates with them.
For example, the Center works in cooperation with the planning andoutreach group of the Public Affairs Department, which sends
JAXA staff to give talks on various space topics at schools particularly during the one-month period celebrating Space Day in Japan,
on 12 September.
The Space Education Center also works in cooperation with theSpace Environment Utilization Center, which carries out educationrelated activities in association with Space Shuttle flights and theuse of the International Space Station.
The Satellite Applications and Promotion Center produces useful
information materials with images taken by JAXA-operated satellites for distribution to the public. The Space Education Center
works in collaboration with the Satellite Applications and Promotion
Center in carrying out educational activities using images taken by
JAXA satellites.
The Space Education Center seeks for collaborations with various
entities outside JAXA that are engaged in education. Close collaborations with teachers and schools are considered most essential. The
Center has continued to explore opportunities for collaborations
with associations of teachers, education boards as well as publishersof textbooks and companies of educational materials, in its efforts tobetter integrate space subjects and materials into the existing curricula for formal education and to produce education materials that better meet needs of schools and teachers.
In pursuing collaborations to expand space education activities, theCenter takes a comprehensive approach. The Center seeks for collaborations not only with those entities that are involved in space7

science and technology and their applications, life science and Earthscience, which have clear links with space activities, but also withothers that are engaged in studies on humanities and civilizations aswell as arts and philosophies.

8III. SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION
A. Objectives and strategies
The Space Education Center provides customized support to theteachers who have contacted the Center with specific requests forsupport to address space-related subjects in their classroom activities.
After the initial contact, staff of the Center hold numerous consultations with those teachers to articulate their needs and interest, identify goals and develop plans for activities for their classes. Once theplan has been developed with the teacher, appropriate experts fromspace science and technology fields as well as pedagogy are identified and called upon to provide knowledge and expertise to develop
teaching and learning materials. When the teacher carries out classroom activities according to the plan, the Center sends its staff andappropriate experts to provide on-site support to the teacher. Upon
request by the teacher, the Center assists the teacher in evaluating
the results of the activities as much as the circumstances allow.

Throughout the entire process of providing support to the teachers,
the Center ensures that the teachers take initiatives in articulatingneeds and interest of their students and that its staff and experts
remain in a supportive role.
The scope of school education support also expanded in the reporting period. From 2007, the Center began to respond to requests fromkindergartens, to provide support in integrating space subjects intheir activities for kindergarten pupils together with their parents.
In view of the introduction of measures in 2008 to make it mandatory for the primary and secondary school teachers to training courses
9for their teaching license renewal, the center has strengthened its
efforts to have space education included in the mandatory teachers
training courses for license renewal.

B. Achievements
1. Reaching out to schools across the country
Providing customized support to teachers and schools consumes alarge amount of staff time and efforts. A classroom activity planconsists of normally more than one classes, and the period required
to implement the plan could last for one full academic year, requiring at least a several visits by the Center’s staff and experts. The
Center has, nonetheless, continued this labour-intensive approach insupporting school education with the team of 4 to 5 staff members.
The number of schools that received customized support from theCenter increased from 20 in the first fiscal year, from May 2005 to
March 2006, to 42 schools in the third fiscal year, from April 2007
to March 2008, increasing the number of young people who benefited from the center’s support from 1,543 to 4,044.

<Number of schools supported by the Center and their participants>

FY 17
Schools participants

FY 18
Schools participants

FY 19
Schools participants

Kindergartens

0

0

1

112

1

94

Elementary Schools

1

30

8

337

18

1,634

Junior High Schools

5

1,158

3

457

6

817

High Schools

14

355

15

898

17

1,499

TOTAL

20

1543

27

1804

42

4,044

NOTE: FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006; FY 18 = Fiscal
Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007; FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007
to March 2008.

During its first year, the Center received request for support mainly
from special high schools that were designated by the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as“Super Science High Schools” (SSH), which were supported by
MEXT to yield concrete results in enhancing science and math edu10

cation, or that were selected by MEXT to implement “Science
Partnership Programs” (SSP), which aim to provide more opportunities to stimulate interest of students in science through collaborations with universities and research institutes. Over the past few
years, the Center has received an increasing number of requests
from other schools as well.

2. Reaching out to kindergartens: Ohshuh Wakayanagki
Kindergarten
In February 2007, the Space Education Center began to provide support to kindergartens to carry out space education activities. In
response to the request received from Wakayanagi Kindergarten, apublic kindergarten of the City of Ohshuh, Iwate Prefecture, theCenter supported the 90-minute class of the kindergarten by giving atalk on rockets, using images of rocket launches by JAXA, andorganizing a hands-on session to make and launch rockets from disposable plastic bags commonly used in Japan to carry wet umbrellas
inside buildings on rainy days. The class was attended by 56 pairs ofkindergarten pupils and their parents.
The success of this first attempt resulted in four classes organized at
this kindergarten from July 2007 to February 2008, for kindergarten
pupils and their parents to watch the night sky, make flying objects
from styrene paper, make and fly hot-air balloons and make constellations using star-shaped sand, or remnants of Baclogypsina spaherulata.

3. Caring for our environment: Kokubunji FourthElementary School
Reflecting the increasing interest among schools in the issue of climate change and global environment, the Space Education Center
supported classroom activities that involved discussions among students on the protection of environment. At the Fourth Elementary
School of the City of Kokubunji, Tokyo, the Center supported aseries of classroom activities as part of “integrated studies” for thefifth-grade students over the period of two months that addressed
environmental problems at global scale.
Through lectures given by JAXA expert, using images taken by
Earth observing satellites, and the group discussions and presenta11

tions that followed, the participating students learned about the status of the Earth, examined the status of local environment, considered how human activities could have impact on the environment
and presented their findings to younger students. The lectures apparently increased awareness of the students of the preciousness anduniqueness of the planet Earth and motivated them to do something
they can do locally to protect its environment.

4. Thinking about links between our daily lives and space
activities: Shimosuwa Yashiro Junior High School
Having carried out “Yashiro Space Project” for four years up to
December 2006 as part of “integrated learning” activities,
Shimosuwa Yashiro Junior High School of the Town of Shimosuwa,
Nagano Prefecture, had served as a catalyst in promoting space education for other local schools. The Project consisted of close to 30
class meetings from May to December each year and was open forparticipation by any interested students regardless of their school
years. The Project encouraged the students to think about various
links between our modern society and space activities, not only fromscientific and engineering point of view but also from other perspectives involving literature, arts, history and religion.
The successful collaborations between Shimosuwa Yashiro JuniorHigh School and the Space Education Center have resulted in firm
support by the education board of the local government to integrate
space subjects into classroom teaching.By 2007, the Center supported classroom activities of another junior high school that addressed
environment with the use of space materials and assisted two elementary schools that jointly organized hands-on sessions to learn
about science of flight.

5. Enhancing scientific thinking through minds-on activities: Saibi High School
Saibi High School of Ehime Prefecture launched a project in 2006 as
part of extracurricular activities to give the students with opportunities to grasp an overview of natural sciences, covering from the origin of the universe to life science. Under the theme “Space Science ?
Universe, Earth and Life”, 12 one-day to three-day sessions and 35
one-day sessions were organized over the academic year in 2006
and 2007, respectively, consisting of lectures on such diverse sub12

jects as the history of the universe, Earth environment, life science
as well as science and technology, and group research activities.
During the course of the Project, the participating students received
practical training on identifying and articulating problems to investigate, collecting useful information for research, improving analyticalresearch skills as well as presenting research results to the public.
While the Project aimed to stimulate interest of the students in various disciplinary areas of natural sciences, it provided the students
with opportunities to acquire practical, fundamental skills that arenecessary to conduct research in general.

6. Expanding collaborations to support teachers training
What started in 2005 as support, together with other research andscientific entities, to the training programme for 10 teachers selectedby the education board of Kanagawa Prefecture had expanded by theend of 2007 to the collaborations with seven prefectural and municipal education boards, education centers and education researchgroups to train more than 240 primary and secondary school teachers to integrate space subjects and materials in their classroom
teaching. The typical training programme consists of sharing theprinciples and concept of space education, sharing space resources
and materials available from JAXA and providing hands-on training<Teachers training>in using those resources and materials in classroom teaching.
In 2007, the Center collaborated with Nagasaki University in the
training programme for 156 university students of pedagogy who
would be future school teachers. Under the theme “Children’s futureand education”, the programme provided the participating students
with opportunities to think about the history of the universe and theplace of our planet Earth in the vastness of the universe and how toeffectively use space subjects and materials in the classroom teaching to make the school students become aware of the vantage point
offered by space.

<Training for future school teachers>

7. Products: Introductory Education Materials
In order to support many school teachers who are too occupied withteaching requirements dictated by the existing curricula as well as
13

fulfilling administrative requirements and are unable to set aside
time to address space subjects as additional activities, the Space
Education Center developed materials that could be used to integrate
space subjects into teaching per existing curricula. Introductory education materials are designed for use by the teachers at the beginningof a curriculum unit to stimulate interest of the students in learning
more about the subject matters covered in that unit.
A small group consisting of space scientists and engineers, primaryand secondary school teachers as well as professors of pedagogy
examined all textbooks of science for primary and secondary
schools. They identified sections of the textbooks where space activities could be mentioned or space-derived images could be shown inconjunction with the subjects to be taught. Their final product was
the publication entitled “Guidebook of Introductory Education
Materials: Science” in 2006. Each of the ten materials presented inthat Guidebook was provided with: i) background information of therelevant space activities; ii) explanatory notes on teaching guidelines
per relevant formal curriculum; iii) sample uses of the material andsample questions to be addressed in the classroom; and iv) a list of
relevant chapters and sections of existing textbooks. This
Guidebook was made available also in English.
Following the publication of the Guidebook for Science, the Center
revised its content and re-produced the compilation of introductory
education materials in the leaflet format in the following year. The
compilation of introductory education materials using space materials is now available in the leaflet format not only for science course
but also for the courses of homemaking, social science and Japaneseas language.

<Introductory education materials>

14IV. SUPPORT FOR INFORMAL EDUCATION
A. Objectives and strategies
Supporting informal education is another pillar of the activities of
the Space Education Center. Using unique programmes and materials that it has developed, the Center supports informal education carried out by other entities rather than schools outside the formal education curricula.
Most of the hands-on education and training activities that theCenter supports are being carried out as part of “Cosmic College”.
The Cosmic College aims to achieve the following objectives: i) toincrease interest of young people in science and technology; ii) tohelp establish voluntary groups of young people that are fond of science and technology; iii) to motivate young people to raise questions, think and find solutions by themselves; iv) to encourage collaborations with others; v) to lead young people to appreciate theimportance of life.
In convening Cosmic College courses across the country, the Center
shifted its strategy over the past few years. During its initial year, theCenter took the lead in planning and organizing the courses withlocal communities as its partners. From 2006, the Center began tolet local communities take the lead in organizing the courses while
the Center plays only a supportive role. With the belief that the local
communities should be held responsible for nurturing their children,
the Center gradually succeeded in identifying those local communities that could serve as the main organizers for such courses.
In supporting the organization of Cosmic College courses, the<Various courses of Cosmic College>

Center has continued to work closely with the Young Astronaut
Club (YAC)-Japan, an incorporated foundation with about 120
branches across the country and 3,000 members to carry out educational activities addressing space and science.

15

B. Programmes for young people: from kindergarten to high-school students
1. Cosmic College: Kids Course“Kids Course” of Cosmic College is organized for young childrenthat are younger than the second year elementary school students toparticipate with their parents. The programme is for one day andaims to increase interest of the participating children in and theirfamiliarity of the surrounding nature. Through hands-on experience
with scientific observations, experiments and handicraft, the programme also aims to cultivate young children’s scientific thinking
and to build the basis for logical thinking process.

<Kids courses>

2. Cosmic College: Fundamental Course
The target audience for the Fundamental Course of Cosmic College
are the school students who are between the third-year of elementary
school and the third-year of junior high school. The programme is inprinciple for one day, and it encourages the participating students tofind interest in the surrounding natural objects and phenomena.
Through hands-on activities involving scientific observations,experiments and handicraft designed for the study of the nature, theparticipating students are guided to improve their scientific and logical thinking capabilities.

< Fundamental Courses>

16

3. Cosmic College: Advanced Course
The programme for Advance Course of Cosmic College is designed
for the school students who are between the sixth-year of elementary
school and the third-year of junior high school. The programme normally lasts for five to six days. Through hands-on experience with
scientific observations, experiments and handicraft, the participating
students are encouraged to come up with solutions for the questions
and issues of interest that they have identified. They also receive
hands-on, minds-on training to deepen their understanding of natural
phenomena and to acquire better scientific and logical thinking
capabilities.
<Lecture and hands-on session during
Advance Courses>

4. Cosmic College: High School Course
The High School Course of Cosmic College is designed for highschool students to acquire advanced knowledge and understandingof space science and technology and their applications through lectures by leading space experts and hands-on training, such as building model rockets. The programme normally lasts for a few days

<Activities during High School
Courses>175. Other programmes for high school students
Besides the Cosmic College courses, the Space Education Center
supported Science Camps organized by research centers of JAXA,
such as Tsukuba Space Center. The Science Camps are mainly forhigh school students to experience hands-on training at researchfacilities in the three-day programme.
<Activities during Science Camps>

At Sagamihara Campus, the Space Education Center also organized
the five-day training programme for high school students to learn
how to design scientific missions through team work and to experience questions and answers on the evaluation of mission planning.
This programme is known as Space Mission High School, or“Kimission”, which is a combination of “Kimi”, or “you” inJapanese, and “mission”.

<Activities during “Kimission”>

C. Programmes for educators and instructors of space education
1. Cosmic College: Educators Course
The Cosmic College offers “Educators Course” for school teachers
and leaders of groups that carry out activities for young people. The
primary objective of this course is to train future instructors for
Cosmic College courses for young people. Through the one-day or
three-day programme, the participants learn about the methods andmaterials that the Center has developed for Cosmic College courses
and take part in hands-on activities that are included in Cosmic
College courses.

<Hands-on sessions during Educators
Courses>18

2. Leaders Seminar
For those people who have already been engaged in, or interested incarrying out, space education or informal education activities, theSpace Education Center organizes Leaders Seminars with the programme for one to two days. The programme aims to transfer basic
knowledge and skills that are required for instructors of space education activities. Such knowledge and skills taken up in the programme concern goals of space education, role of leaders and understanding children’s needs, development of activity plans as well ascrisis management and safety measures.
The Center issues certificates of completion for those individuals
who have participated in the Leaders Seminar. The holders of thosecertificates could then attend training seminars to become spaceeducation instructors. Successful participants of those seminars
would then be invited as instructors to support Leaders Seminars
organized in their communities. They are also encouraged to planand implement space education activities for their communities.
Following the review of the results of a written examination andpresentation at the end of the training seminar as well as space education activities organized in the past year in the local communityand contributions to the Leaders Seminars as instructor, the Center
issues a license for the Space Education Conductor (SEC).
With the above system for issuing certificates and SEC licenses, theCenter aims to expand the basis of collaborators to further increase
space education activities to reach out to all children in the country
while giving proper recognition of the knowledge, skills and actual<Lectures and hands-on sessions
during Leaders Seminars>

contributions of those collaborators. From April 2008, the Leaders
Seminar would be renamed to be “Space Education Instructors
Seminar”.

19

D. Achievements
1. Increasing community bases for space education activities around the country
With the belief that the local communities should be in charge of
nurturing their children, the Center began to establish a system that
respects the central role of local communities in planning and implementing space education events according to their needs and interests without much intervention by the Center. Through the training
seminars for space education leaders and instructors, the Center supports those local communities by making more instructors and lecturers available for their space education events.
This system allowed for a sharp increase in the number of hands-on
education activities organized around the country for young people
while the level of resources provided by the Center remained thesame.
<Number of cosmic college courses organized and their participunts>

FY 17
Events Participants

FY 18
Events Participants

FY 19
Events Participants

Kids Course

6

600

14

1,318

26

3,068

Fundamental Course

10

565

10

505

34

2,278

Advanced Course

1

65

1

61

2

63

High School Course

1

43

1

35

0

0

TOTAL

18

1,273

26

1,919

62

5,409

NOTE: FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006; FY 18 = Fiscal
Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007; FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007
to March 2008.

The number of educators and volunteers who have received training
each year to carry out space education activities also increased byclose to 40 per cent in two years.

20

<Number of participants of Educators Courses and Leaders Seminars>

FY 17

FY 18

FY 19

Cosmic College:
Educators Course

349

192

174

Leaders Seminar

213

233

600

TOTAL

562

425

774

NOTE: FY 17 = Fiscal Year 17, from April 2005 to March 2006; FY 18 = Fiscal
Year 18, from April 2006 to March 2007; FY 19 = Fiscal Year 19, from April 2007
to March 2008.

2. Products: teaching guides and home-learning materials
To help those people who are interested in organizing space education activities but are not able to afford time to participate in thecourses and seminars organized by the Space Education Center, theCenter is producing sets of teaching guides on typical hands-on
activities that are included in Cosmic College courses. These teaching guides are being compiled per study subject. Following the setof teaching guides for “Science of Flight”, consisting of 10 exercise
units, the Center is preparing a set for “Science of Light”.
The Center continues its efforts to support parents that are interested
in addressing space subjects and using space materials in their interactions with children at home. Through the support provided by agroup of school teachers, the Center has developed 5 sets of homelearning scientific materials in leaflet form to address“Flight”, “Earthand Sand”,“Atmosphere”,“Light” and“The Sun and Its Companions”.
<Sample teaching guides of “Science of Flight”>

21The Center continues its efforts to support parents that are interested
in addressing space subjects and using space materials in their interactions with children at home. Through the support provided by agroup of school teachers, the Center has developed 5 sets of homelearning scientific materials in leaflet form to address“Flight”, “Earthand Sand”,“Atmosphere”,“Light” and“The Sun and Its Companions”.

<Samples of home-learning materials>

22

V. SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSITY AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
A. Background and strategies
While the Space Education Center focuses on supporting primaryand secondary schools teachers and students, it continues to provide
some support to university and graduate students to the extent possible within the limitation of resources. Following the establishmentof the Center in May 2005, the functions to support the space activi(Photograph: Courtesy of ISU)ties of the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC) as
well as to send university and graduate students to participate in theInternational Astronautical Congress (IAC) and education programmes offered by the International Space University (ISU) weretransferred to the Center.
While the importance of providing support to university and graduate students and contributing to the training of future space scientists
and engineers to support space activities in the coming years is wellrecognized within JAXA, the discussions are underway to identify abest organizational structure to provide such support. Until suchconcrete organizational structure is put into place, the Space
Education Center would continue its support for university andgraduate students that would also help achieve objectives pursued inits school education support and informal education support.

B. Supporting space activities in Japan for university and graduate students
The Space Education Center provides financial and in-kind support
to the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC), a nonprofit organization to support practical space activities carried out by
universities and colleges. UNISEC consists of more than 420 student members, representing 47 laboratories of 36 universities andcolleges, and 160 supporting members.
<CanSat flyback competition>

UNISEC pursues human resource development in space engineeringand technological development for future space applications. Someof the activities of UNISEC include fund-raising to support small
satellite and hybrid rocket projects by universities and colleges,
analysis of launch safety, frequency of satellite communication,
search for piggy-back launch opportunities and search for opportuni<CanSat><ARLISS>ties for collaborations with governmental entities and commercial
companies.
23

Some of the activities supported by the Space Education Center
include the organization of the annual Noshiro Space Event, consisting of CanSat flyback and rover competitions, participation ofJapanese students in the annual event known as “A Rocket Launch
for International Student Satellites” (ARLISS) held in Nevada,
United States, organization of space development workshops for<Award ceremony of the Satellite
Design Contest>

students and the hybrid rocket launch experiments in Taiki,
Hokkaido.
Besides its support to UNISEC, the Space Education Center alsocollaborates with other organizations to convene the annual Satellite
Design Contest for university and graduate students. The participating students compete for creativity in developing mission and designconcepts.

<Award winning designs>

C. Providing education and training opportunities outside Japan
In cooperation with the International Space University (ISU), theSpace Education Center continues to provide scholarships forJapanese university and graduate students to participate in the SpaceStudies Program (SSP), nine-week course held between June andAugust by ISU at a different location each year around the globe,
and the degree programs for Master of Science in Space Studies andMaster of Science in Space Management (MSS/MSM), one-year
course held at ISU main campus in Strasbourg, France. With morethan 2,400 alumni worldwide and several hundred faculty and lec<SSP 2007 in Beijing, China>(Photographs: Courtesy of ISU)turers drawn from around the world, ISU offers unique programmesthat are international, interdisciplinary and inter-cultural in nature.
Based on the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between
JAXA and ISU in December 2003, JAXA supports activities of ISU
by receiving MSS/MSM students as interns at JAXA research facilities, sending JAXA staff as lecturers for SSP and MSM/MSM andparticipating in the Board of Trustees of ISU.

<Central Campus of ISU, Strasbourg,
France>24

Starting from the year 1999, JAXA and its predecessor, National
Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), have been sendinga group of Japanese university and graduate students to the annual
International Astronautical Congress. Originally started in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), this program provides
opportunities for the participating students to learn about the latest<Water rocket workshops organized
by JAXA students during IAC
Valencia in 2006>

developments in various space-related fields, network with spaceexperts, programme mangers and policy makers and interact withother students with various academic and cultural backgrounds.
Following its establishment, the Space Education Center has been
responsible for supporting the participation of Japanese students inthis IAC Student Program, which is now being carried out jointly by
five space agencies within the framework of the International Space
Education Board (ISEB). (See details of the activities of ISEB
below.)<International Student Zone><CanSat demonstration during IAC
Valencia>25VI. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIESA. Objectives and strategies
The Space Education Center is expanding collaborations to entitiesof other countries and international organizations to promote spaceeducation activities. In pursuing collaborations, the Center uses asmuch as possible the existing frameworks for cooperation in space
activities.
In carrying out international activities, the Center places emphasis
on promoting activities for the benefit of primary and secondary
school teachers and children, particularly in the region of Asia andthe Pacific. This reflects the focus of the Center’s activities in spaceeducation as well as the emphasis placed by JAXA as a whole on
collaborations with countries in Asia and the Pacific in enhancing
international cooperation in space activities. The space education
initiatives taken within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Regional
Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), therefore, are given high priority.
While recognizing benefits of introducing programs and materials
developed by other space agencies with established education andtraining programs for use and participation by Japanese teachers andschools, the Center makes efforts to share its space education concepts, principles and approaches particularly with developing countries that are increasingly interested in and capable of carrying out
space activities. Efforts are also made to make teaching and learningmaterials of the Center available for developing countries in theirlanguages when sufficient interest is expressed.
As for developing countries in other regions, the Center supports
their space education activities through initiatives taken by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and other entities of the United Nations system as well
as development agencies, such as Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA).
Cooperation with space-faring nations in space education activities
is pursued mainly through the framework for cooperation provided
by the International Space Education Board (ISEB).

26

B. Strengthening cooperation with space-faring nations through International
Space Education Board
The Space Education Center collaborates with the members of theInternational Space Education Board (ISEB) in carrying space education activities and represents JAXA in ISEB. ISEB was established in October 2005 by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), theEuropean Space Agency (ESA), the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration of the United States (NASA) and JAXA as its<Establishment of ISEB>

Founding Members. The French Space Agency, Centre Nationald’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), joined ISEB in October 2006.
The objectives of ISEB are: i) to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics literacy achievement in connection withspace; and ii) to support the future workforce needs of space programs. While ISEB meets once a year with the participation of<Heads of Education Session with
Students during IAC Hyderabad,2007>

heads of education of its member agencies during the annual IAC,
the activities of ISEB are being carried out and coordinated by its
Representative Working Group, consisting of one officer each fromthe ISEB member agencies. The membership is open to any publicorganization carrying out space activities and pursuing education
programmes.
The following projects are being carried out within the frameworkof ISEB: i) international student programs at the annual IAC and thebiennial assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR);ii) international student participation in NASA Academy; iii)
“Global Educational Network for Satellite Operations” (GENSO)
project; v) CanSat activities; vi) Delta Researcher School project.

<Concept of GENSO Project>

The term of the chairmanship is one year, and it rotates among theFounding Members. Following its successful initial year under thechairmanship of ESA, ISEB was chaired by NASA from October
2006, and has been chaired by CSA since September 2007.
The Space Education Center has continued to support the work of
ISEB by, for example, participating in the organization of IAC and
COSPAR Student Programs, supporting the participation ofJapanese graduate students in GENSO project and by organizing the<CanSat Workshop in Tokyo,
February 2007>

International CanSat workshop at Tokyo in February 2007.

27

C. Focusing on children in Asia: Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency ForumThe Space Education Center has supported educational activities ofAsia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) since 2005.
From the year 2006, the Center has served as the Secretariat of
APRSAF Space Education and Awareness Working Group.
Currently consisting of members representing 16 countries and 3<APRSAF-12 Water Rocket Event,Kitakyushu, Japan, 2005>

international organizations, the Working Group has become increasingly active in the past few years in promoting space education
activities in the region.
Particularly by organizing the APRSAF Water Rocket Event withthe regional water rocket launch competition in conjunction with theannual session of APRSAF and encouraging participating countries
to organize national water rocket competitions to select participants<APRSAF-13 Water Rocket Event,Jakarta, Indonesia, 2006>

for the Event each year, the Working Group contributed to increasing awareness of space education activities. Following the first
Water Rocket Event held in Kitakyushu, Japan, in October 2005,
and the second Event, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in December 2006,
the third APRSAF Water Rocket Event was attended by 24 students
from 11 countries between 12 and 18 years old. The Event has been
attended by 40-50 students and accompanying teachers from<APRSAF-14 Water Rocket Event,Bangalore, India, 2007>

between 10 and 13 countries each year.

<Making water rockets, Jakarta><Launch competition, Jakarta><Launch site, Jakarta><Launching the rocket, Bangalore>

28

For younger children, between 8 and 11 years old, the Working
Group began to organize APRSAF Poster Contest from 2006 undera selected theme each year. The first Contest was held under“Importance of Space” and received 12 entries from four countries.
The number of participating countries doubled in the following year,
in 2007, when the Contest was held under the same theme as the one<APRSAF-13 Poster Contest, Jakarta,
2006>

for the World Space Week that year, i.e. “50 Years in Space”, andreceived 23 entries from 8 countries.

<APRSAF-14 Poster Contest,
Bangalore, 2007>

APRSAF Space Education and Awareness Working Group alsoorganizes space education forums, to provide school teachers andstudents with opportunities to learn about various space-related subjects, and space education seminars, to provide training opportunities for school teachers to use space materials and resources in theclassroom activities to stimulate interest of students in the subjects
to learn. In organizing those activities, efforts are made to createsynergies with the space education initiatives taken by UNESCO, in
introducing and promoting space education in developing countries.
The Space Education Forum in Ha Noi, Vietnam, in March 2006
was jointly held by APRSAF and UNESCO with local support by< Space Education Forum, Ha Noi,
2006>

the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). In
December 2006, the Space Education Center also collaborated with
UNESCO in organizing the Space Education Seminar for teachers in
Jakarta, Indonesia, immediately following the conclusion of the thirteenth session of APRSAF.

<Space Education Seminar, Jakarta,
Indonesia, 2006>

29

Following its agreement reached in 2006, APRSAF Space
Education and Awareness Working Group began to consider education and training activities for secondary to tertiary school students.
In this connection, the Working Group began to exchange information on CanSat activities.
CanSat is a nano-scale satellite model with all basic functions of asatellite fitted into a soda can of 350-ml or a little more. It could per<Displays of CanSats>

form various experiments such as attitude control, image captureand downlink as well as differential GPS measurement. Because ofthis, CanSat is considered to provide excellent training opportunities
for those who wish to learn about and gain hands-on experience withsatellite design, fabrication and operation.
In Japan, more than a few university teams actively participate in the<Demonstration of rover>annual CanSat comeback competition. One has to make a CanSat
with a certain control mechanism, such as parafoil, to reach a predetermined target point without human intervention after a releasefrom a captive balloon at a high altitude or following the launch byan amateur rocket.
In order to introduce CanSat activities in Asia and the Pacific, the<Discussions during the Workshop>

Space Education Center organized, within the framework of
APRSAF, the International CanSat Workshop in Tokyo in February
2007, in cooperation with UNISEC. This Workshop was also held
within the framework of ISEB and enjoyed participation of about
150 university and graduate students, educators and space experts
involved in educational activities from 15 countries, with 10 from
Asia and the Pacific.
Following the Workshop, some countries in Asia, such as Malaysia
and Thailand, began to carry out CanSat activities at home. In thecase of Malaysia, the National Space Agency of Malaysia organizeda CanSat competition with the participation of several university
teams.

<CanSat presentations by high school
students>

30

D. Pursuing cooperation with developing countries outside Asia
1. Working with UNESCO
Upon invitation by UNESCO, the Space Education Center participated in workshops organized by UNESCO for the first time when
they were held in multiple cities of Colombia in November andDecember 2005. During the workshops held in Medellin and
Bogota, the Center introduced water rockets as educational activities<Medellin, Colombia>

and supported hands-on sessions for school children to build andlaunch water rockets.
Following those workshops in Colombia, the Center provided similar support to the UNESCO space education workshops held in Hueand Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, in March 2006, as well as the workshops in Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquill, Ecuador, in May 2007. The<Hue, Vietnam>

Center continues to respond to requests for information, advice ormaterials relating to water rockets that it receives from those educators and teachers who participated in the UNESCO workshops.
As of March 2008, the Center plans to support the workshops to beheld in Dar-es-Salaam and Arusha, Tanzania, and a regional spacecamp for teachers and students from Latin American countries to be<Cuenca, Ecuador>

held in Ibarra, Ecuador, both in May 2008.
The partnership with UNESCO has turned out to be effective in promoting water rocket activities for educational purposes, using thematerials provided by the Space Education Center. It has opened thedoor for collaborations with those other developing countries withemerging space capabilities with willingness and communication
channels to reach out to a large number of school teachers. As partof such collaborations, the Center provided support to water rocket
events in conjunction with the celebration of the World Space Week
in 2007 as well as associated teachers seminar held in Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Nigeria, Philippines and Vietnam.

<Northern region of Argentina>

31

<Teachers training in Brazil><Baranquilla, Colombia><Bogota, Colombia>

2. Pursuing inter-regional cooperation: supporting Space
Conference of the Americas
Recognizing the effectiveness of working with those entities thatserve as focal points for regional cooperation in space activities, theSpace Education Center responded to the invitation by the organizers and participated in the Fifth Space Conference of the Americas(V CEA), held in Quito, Ecuador, in July 2006, as well as its
Preparatory Conference, held in Santiago de Chile, in March 2006.
At those meetings, the Center introduced its concept, principles
approaches taken for space education activities and introduced water
rocket activities as one example of effective hands-on education foryoung people. The Center continues to support the work of the Pro
Tempore Secretariat of V CEA by, among other things, providingthem with water rocket education materials and supporting them inthe organization of the first regional space camp, planned in May
2008.

32

3. Pursuing collaborations with development agencies:
supporting Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) teachers training programme
The Space Education Center has begun to take a step forward in pursuing collaborations with African countries. Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided opportunities for the Center toreceive groups of African science teachers in September 2006 and
September 2007 to introduce space education. The Center provided
short hands-on sessions for those teachers to use space materials andresources to stimulate interest of students in science classes. In total,
the Center provided such opportunities to 17 science teachers from 8
African countries, i.e. Kenya, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia,
South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

<Receiving science teachers from African countries for the first time, 2006><Welcoming the new group of science teachers from African countries, 2007>33

E. Achievements: education materials resulting from international collaborations
Through international activities, the Space Education Center makes
available some of its selected teaching and learning materials inother languages than the original one, Japanese, with the aim of disseminating its education materials outside the country to further promote space education. In selecting those materials, the Center places
importance on the feedback that it receives from educators andteachers in other countries on the education activities that the Center
introduces.
One of the successful examples for taking the above approach is the
production of the Water Rocket Educator’s Manual and its accompanying DVD. The English version of the Manual and DVD was prepared first for distribution to APRSAF Space Education andAwareness Working Group and to the participants of APRSAF
Water Rocket Event in 2006. In view of the positive feedback that
the Center received from many teachers and educators not only from
Asian countries but also from Latin American countries, the Center
worked with UNESCO to produce the Spanish version.

<English and Spanish versions of the Water Rocket Educator’s Manual>34

VII. DISSMINATION OF INFORMATIONThe Space Education Center uses Internet-based services and publications as the main tools to disseminate information.
As for the Internet-based services, the Center provides information
on its activities, including announcements for upcoming opportunities and reports on the past activities, and distributes and revises online education materials and programs, mainly through its web site.
Its web site continues to be upgraded, and it now contains movie
files and video clips. The web site of the Center<Home page of theSpace Education Center>(http://www.edu.jaxa/jp) aims to achieve the following three objectives: i) to serve as the focal point to disseminate information on
space education activities and to provide a forum for exchanging
ideas and information among educators; ii) to provide educationmaterials, images and pictures that can be easily downloaded for use
by educators in classroom teaching; iii) to make available immediately the teaching and learning materials developed through school
education support as well as reports on school support.
In addition, the Center issues short journals via electronic mail, or“Mail Magazine”, once or twice a month, taking up a space-related
topic that may be of interest to young people and disseminating thelatest news on the Center’s activities. As of March 2008, 25 issues
have been disseminated since the first issue in June 2006. The number of subscribers increased 30-fold in almost two years, from 30 toclose to 1,000.
The Center disseminates paper-based publications on a regular basis.

<News letter>

The Center has been distributing news letters to about 15,000 elementary and junior high schools in the country. For “Science forKids”, a monthly journal for children, the Center is contributing articles on its activities. Starting from August 2007, the Center is issuing the quarterly journal, “Door to the Space (Sky)” for children. By
March 2008, three issues have been published, to disseminate articles on space-related subjects and activities of the Center.

<Quarterly magazine,“Door to Space (Sky)”>35

VIII. CONCLUDING REMARKS
To some extent, we in our Space Education Center are trying toestablish a network of space education efforts at various levels,
through various cooperation frameworks and through not only
organizations but also individuals who share our goals and principles. As far as the space education is concerned, we value what eachindividual can do to have positive impact on the minds of young
people.
In our efforts to highlight the importance of space activities for thesociety, we have stressed the benefits of space science and technology
and their applications to enhance safety, security, predictability,
responsiveness, stability and convenience at the societal level, aiming for the enrichment of the society as a whole. While these efforts
should continue, we could pay a little more attention to individual
needs particularly those of young people.
What JAXA Space Education Center is doing now is perhaps thereflection of the lessons that we learned in the Japanese society. In
the excessive pursuit of material richness, efficiency and productivity, we might have forgotten something important in the pursuit ofhappiness as human beings.
Our attempt to establish a network of space education efforts is anattempt to create a coalition of forces around the world who want
our children to lead lives full of happiness and joy of living.
Through our interactions particularly with teachers and educators indeveloping countries, we have gained confidence that what we aredoing will eventually bear fruits in the future.
It is our believe that the enhancement of human development at individual level through space education will contribute to the establishment of a solid foundation for global peace, so that one day, whenhuman beings eventually start living in space, there will be no
human sorrows and tragedies that we have observed too often on the
Earth.

36

37