September 14th, 2023
Moon for Earth: Co-crafting the future
Beyond the bleakness of space, we are beginning to see a light that will illuminate our future. Moon is a harsh environment with limited resources for human life such as air, water, food, and electricity. Technologies that enable us to live in this environment and recycle limited resources can be applied to improve the global environment and enrich our lives. This is the sustainable future we are aiming for. However, there is a great difficulty in advancing moon development. That is, there are too many unknowns on the moon.
Measurements enable us to visualize the impact of the surrounding environment on the plant. The first step is to recognize what is happening at the site. Recognition promotes understanding of the phenomenon, and with the control that comes from understanding, we can connect to the future that we want to be. The ionosphere analyzer developed in the early 1960s observed the electron density, electron temperature, and ion density in the ionosphere, which had been difficult to measure before. This was a pioneering technology that turned the unknown into the known in space. In recent years, we have been developing sensing technologies to transform moon development into an actualized future, such as providing research instruments for analyzing the effects of gravity on cells and sensors for detecting water resources on the surface of the moon. We feel that we have the potential to make a significant contribution to society by applying our technology, which have enabled us to operate industrial plants in harsh environments without stopping, to solving problems on the moon, which is also a harsh environment.
We think it is difficult to link moon development to environmental problems on Earth. But imagine this. If water resources are discovered on the moon, hydrogen and oxygen can be obtained through electrolysis of water, leading to the development of green hydrogen technology, which can be used as fuel for industrial applications on the moon. Living on the moon, where resources are limited, requires the reuse of resources whenever possible. The realization of a recycling-oriented society that recycles valuable resources from waste by applying innovative recycling technologies developed in the moon environment to the earth will lead to the improvement of the global environment.
The sensing technology that transforms the unknown into the known in space will contribute to solving problems that will open the way to the sustainability of the Earth and humankind. The engineer who was in charge of the design and development of the ionospheric measurement device at the time of the 1960 launch said, “After we went to the test site, there were no Sundays or Saturdays. I had trained in Japan, so I didn't mind staying up late at night, but I was a bit exhausted. I am surprised that I am becoming somewhat exaggerated." The technology that turns the unknown into the known will enable us to control the unknown in new ways and enrich our lives.
Link
・YOKOGAWA×Space PART1│ROUNDTABLE
https://www.yokogawa.com/about/research-development/inv_center/roundtable/yokogawa-x-space-part1/
・YOKOGAWA×Space PART2│ROUNDTABLE
https://www.yokogawa.com/about/research-development/inv_center/roundtable/yokogawa-x-space-part2/