The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 25th that the next-generation small satellite No. 2, which was launched by the Space Research Institute at the Naro Space Center on May 25, 2023, at 6:24 p.m., has successfully completed its core missions over the past two years, including the verification of domestically developed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology and all-weather Earth observation.
Since the satellite’s launch, next-generation small satellite No. 2 has conducted an average of 3 to 4 imaging sessions per day while performing functionality checks and technology verifications. As of now, it has completed over 1,200 Earth observations, and even after the satellite’s mission lifespan has elapsed, the performance of the imaging radar remains stable, allowing it to continue its observation missions reliably.
KAIST’s Space Research Institute is conducting repeated observations of the Arctic sea ice areas in collaboration with the Korea Polar Research Institute. The Remote Sensing Polar Information Center of the polar research institute is precisely tracking changes in ice area and structure due to climate change through time-series-based analysis using the observation results.
Recently, the Korea Polar Research Institute captured data showing that the area of the ice lake behind the Milne Ice Shelf in Canada has increased by a staggering 15 square kilometers between 2021 and 2025 by merging observation data from next-generation small satellite No. 2 and the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1. This is analyzed as an important signal indicating that climate change in the Arctic is accelerating.
Meanwhile, the imaging data from next-generation small satellite No. 2 is also being used in research on monitoring changes in forest ecosystems, such as detecting shifts in biological seasons due to climate change, identifying dieback in high-altitude conifers, and investigating landslides, in cooperation with the Climate Change Research Center at the National Park Research Institute. In addition, research is ongoing to analyze the spatial distribution of carbon storage in forest areas using satellite imagery and to enhance the accuracy of analyses by comparing it with field measurement values.
KAIST’s Space Research Institute noted, ‘We are also developing a system to process the technology verification-focused data received from the satellite into standard imaging products that research institutions can easily utilize.’
