 Satellites are extremely important tools for observing the environment on Earth. They can measure changes to the polar ice caps, for example, or the extent of deforestation. Such information is important for scientists studying weather patterns and climate change. One of these satellites is called Ibuki. It was launched in 2009 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Formerly named the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite or GOSAT, it was the first to be designed specifically to check the amount of these gases in the planet's atmosphere. In fact, Ibuki means breath in Japanese. At an average altitude of 667 km, Ibuki circles the Earth in about 100 minutes, covering the entire surface and allowing it to monitor the atmosphere with unprecedented accuracy. High precision sensors can observe about 56,000 points on the planet. The satellite is able to track not only emissions but also the movement and absorption of greenhouse gases. In addition, Ibuki can pinpoint such problems as leakages of methane from natural gas pipelines. Data from Ibuki is contributed to GOS, the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, a world partnership to find and share data on environmental issues that affect us all.