News and Topics

2024.05.07

1. 

   A sounding rocket containing the NASA Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment-2 (CIBER-2) payload, a project joined by members of the laboratory of Professor Shuji Matsuura (School of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy) was successfully launched on May 6th at 1:32 PM (JST). The rocket, containing observation equipment built at Prof. Matsuura's laboratory, was safely recovered the following day. The collected data was successfully retrieved, and is expected to shine light on cosmic infrared background radiation in the future.

Comment from Professor Matsuura:

The CIBER-2 rocket experiment was a success!
I arrived in 2015 with the goal of making this experiment a reality, together with Kwansei Gakuin university students.

However, it took three years to complete the telescope due to various technical problems. Just when we thought we
had finally reached the point where we could launch the telescope, the NASA base was closed due to COVID-19, and the first launch experiment was left to the U.S. team, but due to a lack of manpower and preparation, no good data was obtained. After the pandemic, the KGU team was able to work in earnest in the U.S. The second launch experiment,
which the team was fully prepared for, was ironically cancelled due to a problem with the rocket's tracking after
launch, and disastrously, the observation equipment plummeted to the ground.

Even so, the students and I cheered each other up, and this was our third launch. My heart was racing during the countdown, and when I saw the rocket soar into the night sky with a flash at the moment of zero, I was overwhelmed.
I hugged and shared my joy with the American members of the experimental team, and shook hands with anyone and everyone I could find.

The next day, the observation equipment was recovered by helicopter and the data stored in the device was retrieved, yielding a stunningly beautiful infrared image. This was the moment when the hard work of the students who participated in the experiment was rewarded, even more so than the launch. I would like to share this joy not only with the students who participated this time, but also with all the alumni and our partners who have participated in the project so far.

We will use this observation data in the future to achieve our goal of shining a light on cosmic background radiation, and share good news with you through scientific results. Thank you very much for your support and encouragement as we move forward with more rocket experiments.