国際災害チャータとは、地震や洪水といった大規模な災害が発生した際に、参加機関が、地球観測データ等の無償提供を行うことにより、災害から生じる危機の軽減等に貢献することを目的とする協力枠組みです。
ISSに参加する各国は、要請を受けて、それぞれがISSに搭載している機器を利用して被災地に必要なデータを提供していきます。

本協力の背景には、ISS計画の参加各国が目指す「ISSで得られた成果を人類の向上に役立てる」という目標があります。その共通の目標の下、今回はJAXAとNASAの主導の下で、ISSで得た地球観測に関する映像やデータを自然災害対応に役立てていくことに合意しました。

日本からは、超高感度ハイビジョンカメラシステム（SS-HDTV）や「きぼう」船外に搭載されている民生品ハイビジョンビデオカメラシステム（COTS HDTV-EF）の映像を提供します。

これからも、ISSで得られた成果を地上の生活に役立てていきます。

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International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board Statement on the Ability of the ISS to Provide Assistance During Natural Disasters on Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) is an extraordinary global research facility on which the ISS Partnership is carrying out research at an unprecedented rate. Many of the activities on this unique platform yield valuable benefits to society.

Although each Space Station Partner has distinct agency goals for Station research, each Partner shares a unified goal to extend the resulting knowledge for the betterment of humanity. In 2012, the ISS Partnership published "International Space Station Benefits for Humanity," illustrating specific successful humanitarian accomplishments. This publication highlights ISS contributions in Earth observation and disaster response, education, and human health that are improving the lives of many throughout the world.

ISS Earth observation is one of the primary areas of focus for ISS research. A unique complement of automated and crew-operated Earth observation assets are onboard the ISS. In addition, the orbit of the ISS provides a distinct perspective over Earth targets that augments polar-orbiting remote sensing spacecraft. As a result, the ISS can provide an immediate benefit to regions that have experienced natural disasters, such as floods, wildfires, large storm systems, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. The data provided from ISS will provide a significant complement to the data provided by Earth Observation satellites through the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters", of which several of the ISS Partners are members.

Through the ISS Program Science Forum's Earth Observation Working Group and under the leadership of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), ISS Earth Observation assets are supporting global response efforts for regions experiencing natural disasters by collecting imagery of disaster-stricken areas on a best-effort basis. In recent months, the ISS Partners have worked on procedures to efficiently contribute to disaster response with the image data taken by the ISS crew members and ISS Earth observation payloads. Recent imagery campaigns in response to calls for data include: crew Earth observations of areas flooded in southern Russia; imagery of areas in Haiti and the Atlantic coast of the United States that were impacted by hurricane Sandy; multispectral imagery collected by the ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) of flooded regions in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Additional payloads supporting this effort include the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO), the Super Sensitive High Definition TV (SS-HDTV) camera, the Multipurpose Consolidated Experiment (MCE) high definition TV camera (KIBO HDTV-EF), and the ISS SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV). New sensors will soon be available, expanding the Earth observation capabilities on the ISS and the contributions of data to regions affected by natural disasters.

The ISS Program will continue to contribute regional data collected by ISS sensors and crew members in response to natural disasters. The ISS Partners are committed to continuing to share this unique asset in space and the benefits it brings to life on Earth.