Asteria ART and Space Operations Software Developer JAOPS Announce Strategic Partnership
To Develop High-Fidelity Space Environment Simulation Platform
Press Release
March 4, 2026
Asteria Corporation
Asteria Artificial Recognition Technology LLC
JAOPS Inc.
Asteria Corporation’s (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; CEO Pina Hirano; Tokyo Stock Exchange listed, Security Code: 3853, hereinafter “Asteria”) consolidated subsidiary, Asteria Artificial Recognition Technology LLC (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; CEO Tom Sonoda; hereinafter “Asteria ART”) and JAOPS Inc. (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; CEO Alejandro Sela; hereinafter “JAOPS”) announced the start of a joint collaboration to develop a robotics simulation and testing platform for space robotics missions.
Background
Interest and investment in the space industry have grown rapidly worldwide in recent years, led by the United States’ Artemis Program. However, the space robotics field continues to face many technical and operational challenges. Due to the limited opportunities for ground-based field testing, the development of robots that can adapt to the extreme environments in space faces serious challenges, including increasing development costs and delayed testing. The current reliance on a limited number of rocket launch opportunities has become a bottleneck in the space industry.
Asteria and Asteria ART develop and provide “Artefacts”, a continuous simulation platform for robotic applications. “Artefacts is an integrated development environment that enables management of operation testing and simulation in a virtual space, without reliance on physical hardware or real-world environments. By eliminating the need for physical testing, it reduces development rework and dramatically improves efficiency and speed. As a result, the platform can reduce development workload by over 98% and development costs by over 50%. It also shortens the time required to initiate development from several months to as little as one day, improving productivity across the entire process.
JAOPS is a Japan-based startup providing Space Operations as a Service (Space OaaS) and ground segment solutions. The company has an established track record supporting the International Space Station (ISS), Earth observation missions, as well as lunar landers, rovers and drones. JAOPS uses tools like Yamcs (open-source mission control system for spacecraft in Earth orbit, lunar rovers and beyond) to build scalable and sustainable mission control environments. Guided by the principle “Never Fly Alone,” JAOPS is committed to developing collaborative and reliable operational infrastructure.
Overview
Expected Benefits from Joint Development:
-Significantly shorten total development time with high-fidelity space environment reproduction on the ground
-Reduce mission risks and operational costs through pre-deployment simulation
-Improve mission success rates by establishing a comprehensive pre-deployment verification system
Given the limited opportunities for full-scale hardware testing and reliance on constrained launch schedules, Asteria ART and JAOPS will combine their expertise and experience in the space domain to jointly advance a simulation and testing framework tailored to space robotics missions. By leveraging the power of software, this initiative aims to create a development environment optimized for space.
Asteria ART will upgrade its internally developed continuous simulation platform, “Artefacts,” to provide an advanced verification environment capable of supporting complex space missions.
JAOPS will apply its years of experience in space mission operations to design mission scenarios that reflect real operational conditions and develop assets for practical application. It will also design interfaces and scenarios for execution on Artefacts, establishing a verification framework capable of accurately reproducing those conditions.
Future Plans
Going forward, Asteria ART and JAOPS will develop an integrated platform to support the development and operation of space systems. It will provide autonomous operations support and a scenario-driven simulation and testing environment.
This platform will be designed for flexible use across a wide range of applications, including satellite operations, lunar and planetary exploration, and even manned space missions. By combining open-source technologies such as Yamcs with Artefacts’ advanced simulation capabilities, this collaboration aims to create a practical and stable mission control environment.
Comments
“This partnership represents a game-changing opportunity to fuse our expertise in robotics simulation and testing with JAOPS’s extensive experience in mission operations. Together, we are building a platform that will not only accelerate innovation at unprecedented speed but also unlock new possibilities in autonomous operations and human-led space exploration.”
Tom Sonoda (CEO of Asteria ART)
“At JAOPS, our mission is to revolutionize space operations – making them more affordable, reliable, and scalable than ever before. Partnering with Asteria ART empowers us to combine operational excellence with powerful robotics simulation and testing environments, enabling us to test, validate, and scale mission scenarios in ways previously unimaginable. This marks a giant leap toward more resilient and sustainable space infrastructure and is perfectly aligned with our core principle: Never Fly Alone.”
Alejandro Sela (CEO of JAOPS)
About Asteria ART (https://www.artefacts.com)
Asteria ART is a subsidiary of Asteria Corporation which specializes in AI engineering, and the provider of “Artefacts” – a platform that streamlines robot application development through its unique simulation technology. By enabling rapid testing without the need for physical environments and refinement from the early stages of development, “Artefacts” accelerates the development and deployment of advanced robotics systems.
About JAOPS Inc. (https://www.jaops.com)
JAOPS is a leading innovator in space mission operations, tackling complex missions with advanced tools, training programs and operational support. Leveraging extensive expertise in data processing, mission planning and real-time monitoring, JAOPS ensure mission success through customized control centers worldwide.
About Asteria Corporation (https://en.asteria.com/)
Asteria is a software development company that provides products and services that “connect” systems, people, things and intentions based on the concept of “Connecting the World with Software”. Its flagship product, “ASTERIA Warp” is middleware which integrates data from different systems and cloud services without coding and has been adopted by over 10,000 companies. Other products include digital storage app “Handbook X”, mobile app builder “Platio” and no-code AI/IoT platform “Gravio”. By offering these products, Asteria promotes digital transformation (DX) and helps organizations improve their business process efficiency. Asteria is also engaged in raising awareness of new technologies and their value and fosters innovation through its involvement in the launch of Blockchain Collaborative Consortium and No Code Promotion Association.
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JAOPS Inc.
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