Tokyo-based ALE Co., Ltd. (ALE), led by CEO Lena Okajima, participated in the April Dream project that aimed to send out dreams on 1st April and distributed this news in Japanese on that date. This news is ALE’s dreams＝VISION.
■About ALE’s vision
ALE’s vision is “Anchoring space into our culture to propel humankind to new endeavors.” ALE aims to contribute towards the sustainable development of humankind by expanding the area of human activity outside of Earth, to discover, collect, and apply the data mined from space. Towards the realization of this vision, ALE will work in stages as shown in Phases 1-3 below.
◇Phase1: Near Earth 2020~
Phase1’s Mission：Make space closer. For all of us. Together.
- Using man-made shooting stars; to create a place for people to experience the beauty and excitement of space, to entice human curiosity and obtain data from the atmosphere, to contribute to solving Earth’s climate change.
- Establish awareness among people that space contains both immeasurable amounts of scientific knowledge that can help humanity maintain a sustainable life on Earth and mesmerizing beauty and inspiration.
We are now in phase1. ALE is currently developing space entertainment, such as man-made shooting stars, that is aimed to spark people’s curiosity; accumulation and utilization of Earth’s atmospheric data which will enable to help characterize the mechanisms behind climate change; and the mitigation of space debris, the maintenance of the orbital environment and the development of the EDT device that contributes to creating a sustainable space environment.
◇Phase2: The Moon, other planets 2030~
- Obtain data from other natural satellites and planets in-situ and analyze their evolutionary transformation to acquire scientific knowledge to preserve the beauty of Earth (e.g. combat desertification).
- Provide a form of entertainment that can only be experienced at the local bases and habitats of other satellites and planets, for the residence of those bases, and motivate more people to explore outside Earth.
◇Phase3: Outside the solar system 2050~
- Establish an exploration method for unmanned and manned space missions to explore outside the solar system and unravel new theories of physics, astronomy, and biology as well as their applications.
■VISION The meaning behind “Anchor space into our culture to empower humankind to new endeavors.”
◇The importance of basic science
One of the driving forces of ALE is the passion to contribute towards the development of science. People tend to question what basic science is useful for but it has fundamentally changed the world in every era. Looking back over history, GPS and other things were born of the theory of relativity and semiconductors and quantum computers were born of quantum theory. When he came up with the theory of relativity over 100 years ago, it is doubtful that Einstein ever imagined that it would be used for something like GPS. ALE strongly believes that it is not whether basic science born of intellectual curiosity, an inquisitive spirit, or the technology that uses it is useful or not, but that the world can change suddenly and that it has the amazing power of being able to move the human race forwards in leaps and bounds.
◇Space as the stage for advanced human endeavors
It is the immeasurable scientific knowledge that lies in space that helps the development of basic science and humankind. Space is the ideal environment as a foundation for natural science and research that handles phenomena and discoveries of natural phenomena in basic science including physics, chemistry, biology, geoscience and astronomy. ALE is involved in space development and is accumulating scientific knowledge.
Space development has transitioned in recent years from being led by governments to the private sector and has accelerated with the additional participation of many other companies other than ALE; the scope of human endeavors is gradually expanding away from Earth to Moon and then to other planets. At the same time as playing a role in this advancement of endeavors, ALE will feedback the scientific knowledge obtained through space development to the Earth and protect and improve the Earth’s environment so that we can continue to live comfortably.
ALE perceives the whole of space including Earth to be a platform for the endeavors of humankind and the desire to create a sustainable and prosperous life is included in the company’s vision.
■MISSION The meaning behind “Make space closer. For all of us. Together.”
◇Making space closer
At first glance, science may seem as if it has nothing to do with our lives and we tend to think of it as something that is specialist and difficult. However, as mentioned above, in truth, it is deeply connected to our lives and has great potential for the advancement of humankind.
ALE would like to make science more familiar to many people (=Make Space Closer) by stimulating interest in science through space entertainment such as man-made shooting stars, and by implementing scientific findings in society through the use of Earth's atmospheric data for disaster prevention and reduction and the development of debris mitigation devices. In addition, by broadening access to science, ALE aims to increase the number of people who study science or engage in research and contribute to the development of science.
◇Anchoring space in culture
Human endeavor is expanding into space. There are still many inconveniences about life in space and it is currently difficult to enjoy a comfortable life like on Earth. ALE would like to make space a place where humankind can live a happy and cultured life in harmony with other creatures and nature rather than just being a place where we survive or for economic activities (= Anchor Space in Culture).
■Comment from Lena Okajima, CEO, ALE Co., Ltd.
Instead of lying on April 1st, I am happy to be able to share ALE's dreams and aspirations. We believe that it will take a lot of time and effort to realize ALE’s dream: VISION. We will not forget the point of view that our vast Earth is just one pale blue dot among countless stars and, along with everyone else, we want to cherish the only Earth we have and peace on Earth.
■About ALE Co., Ltd.
Company Name: ALE Co., Ltd.
Address: 2-11-8 Shibadaimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0012, Japan
CEO: Dr. Lena Okajima
Established: 1st September 2011
Nature of Business: Space Entertainment (Sky Canvas), Atmospheric Data, Debris Mitigation
URL: https://star-ale.com/en/
*April Dream is not simply an April Fool’s joke; it is a PR TIMES project to communicate the actual dreams that companies want to come true.