, a professor at the University of Tokyo, and Ryu Funahashi, leader of a group of graduate students who made a tiny cubical satellite, shown in bottom photo provided by Nakasuka, weep with joy Oct. 27 after the first signal from the craft was received as it passed over Japan.

It is the second such satellite placed in orbit. The first was sent up in June 2003.

Our Planet

People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go