JAXA and UNOOSA open 9th Round of KiboCUBE program!

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have opened the 9th round of applicants for KIboCUBE program. KiboCUBE provides selected entities with an opportunity to deploy a 1U CubeSat (10cm3-sized small satellite) from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on the International Space Station (ISS). UNOOSA and JAXA have continued to contribute to the advancement of space technology and the capacity building of space technology in non-space faring countries and spotlighting the efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The year 2025 marks KiboCUBE 10th anniversary. Eight teams have been selected so far. Five of them have already deployed their satellites from the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) and the other three have been coordinating towards the satellites launch and deploy.

The announcement of the opportunity for the 9th round was made by Minoru Kiuchi, Minister of State for Space Policy, on June 25th, 2025, at the event “Japan's Vision : Space-Earth Sustainability” held jointly by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs during the 68th Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

KiboCUBE specializes in the “1U CubeSat”, which is a 10 cm3 small satellite. Selected entities will be able to deploy a satellite developed by themselves from the Kibo/ISS and conduct activities such as observations or technology demonstrations in space. CubeSat is easier to develop and more affordable in cost and development period, hence widely utilized for education, capacity building, technology demonstrations, and many more.

Valuing the importance of development and utilization of CubeSats, JAXA and UNOOSA have jointly organized KiboCUBE Academy, an online educational program, since 2021. In this program, attendees can take lectures or interactive sessions for CubeSat technologies or development processes. The intent of the program is to support the improvement of space emerging countries and thus it is widely open not only to selected entities but also to any interested.

For details, see UNOOSA’s websites below: