Micro mini satellites for earthquake studies - Toward international collaboration

Past studies show that the effects of earthquakes appear in the ionosphere prior to large earthquakes, and recently the number of the papers which report the precursor effect has rapidly increased and the content of these papers is becoming more compelling. However the results are still not fully convincing, because the number of the events, which are studied from ground as well as satellite based measurements, are not sufficient to deduce the morphology of the effects; the data presented is still not fully persuasive. In the first part of this paper, we describe the precursor behavior obtained by the Japanese satellite "HINOTORI" as well as the US satellite Dynamic Explorer-2. We then discuss the problems, which we encountered in deducing the morphology associated with earthquake precursors. To establish he morphology is the first step in solving the mechanism for earthquakes to influence the ionosphere. Since the data which have been reported suggest a high probability for large earthquake to be forecast, we propose collaborating to launch micro-/minisatellites, especially among the countries who suffer from earthquake disasters, and to share the mission costs. Key issues, which should be taken into account for the mission, are also discussed.