Student Challenges Lead to Space! ARLISS, which provides practical opportunities for students interested in space development Exhibition "ARLISS EXPO" to be held for the first time on December 8 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo

ARLISS" organized by the University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC), a non-profit organization, is a program to provide students who are interested in space development with a valuable practical opportunity by holding a competition as well as a launch demonstration of the small mock-up satellite "CanSat," which was launched in 1999. After the success of the crowdfunding campaign held from July to August 2024 (218 donors raised a total of 4,235,000 yen), the ARLISS 2024 competition held in September also attracted much attention from the general public. We will hold a debriefing session of the competition as a face-to-face event "ARLISS EXPO" on December 8 at X-NIHONBASHI TOWER in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.

Rocket Launch

What is ARLISS?

ARLISS is a program that allows students to actually experience everything from mission creation to CanSat design, fabrication, testing, launch, and operation in a short period of time, as space development becomes increasingly massive and costly. Students will gather in the Black Rock Desert (Nevada, USA), descend and land a CanSat launched by an amateur rocket, and then execute various missions.

■Significance of ARLISS

Through this program, students will develop system construction, problem-solving, and project management skills in space. Furthermore, students hone not only their technical skills but also their cooperative and flexible thinking skills, and learn the importance of achieving results as a team. This experience has produced many outstanding graduates, including Professor Yuichi Tsuda of the HAYABUSA2 project and Tomoya Nakamura, CEO of AXELSPACE Corporation, a space start-up company.

Examples of "ARLISS2024" participating teams' missions

This year, 16 teams from Japan and more than 3 teams from overseas participated in ARLISS and took on a variety of unique missions. Here are some examples.

＜Tokyo University of Information Sciences Noah's Ark

Combining GPS and a distance sensor, the team overcame the 10-meter accuracy of GPS and developed a high-precision positioning mission that aimed for a zero-meter landing point.

<Tokyo University of Science Kimura Laboratory Team SHIKOU

Using Bluetooth communication technology, the team conducted an experiment in which two small rovers cooperated with each other for a follow-up run. This is an ambitious challenge that involved complex control technology and a lot of trial and error in coordination.

＜Keio Team WolveZ＞ Keio University

This team took on the challenge of a cargo transportation mission to a cave on the moon, and achieved precise operation with a CanSat equipped with complex mechanisms.

Each of these teams challenged their own unique missions, aiming to help students comprehensively acquire diverse skills necessary for space technology.

Comeback mission sequence diagram

Students carrying the rocket with CanSat onboard

Scene of CanSat search

CanSat of Keio Team WolveZ

About ARLISS EXPO

The in-person event "ARLISS EXPO" will introduce students from all over Japan who participated in ARLISS and their CanSats at the exhibition booths to the public. This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the students about their experiences and their aspirations to become space development engineers. You will also be able to experience the unique stories of each team's challenges, achievements, and hardships.

Date : Sunday, December 8, 2024

Venue : X-NIHONBASHI TOWER

　　　　(7th Floor, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, 2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

Time ：13:00-17:30 *Doors open at 12:30

Contents ：Exhibition by each team

　　　　Lecture (Prof. Nakasuka / University of Tokyo, Prof. Tsuda / JAXA, CEO Nakamura / AXELSPACE)

　　　　Reception: 18:00 - 20:00

If you wish to attend, please fill out this form

https://forms.gle/2MFkdKuaze2VaAh78

*Registration is required for those who wish to attend the reception.

Organization Profile

Organization name: University Space Engineering Consortium (UNISEC)

Establishment ：April 2002

Location: 2F Central Yayoi, 2-3-2 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

President : Kei Sakamoto (Professor, Tokyo University of Science)

ARLISS Student Representative: Mitsuyo Okada (University of Tsukuba, 4th year)

UNISEC HP： https://unisec.jp/

ARLISS HP： https://www.arliss.unisec.jp/