The Ibuki-2 was jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Environment Ministry and the National Institute for Environmental Studies.
“Ibuki” means “breath” or “puff” in Japanese.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane in the atmosphere absorb light of particular wavelengths. From an altitude of about 600 kilometers, the satellite will calculate concentrations of CO2 and other substances in the atmosphere by monitoring these wavelengths of the reflected light and other factors.