Japan’s Most Unique New Experience: An Artificial Meteor Shower

Have you ever wished upon a shooting star? Up until now, that experience was just about guaranteed 100% natural, caused by space debris entering the atmosphere. But if you’re planning a trip to Japan in 2028, you might want to take a second look at any bright lights shooting through the cosmos, because one Japanese space startup is preparing for another shot at making shooting stars on demand.

According to the Mainichi, Tokyo-based company ALE announced in early 2026 that it plans to launch a new satellite into the atmosphere in an attempt to create the world’s first artificial meteor shower. If successful, it would mark a major milestone – a much-anticipated success after two previous missions, which failed to produce much of a celestial show.

Man-Made Shooting Stars, Coming in 2028

The concept sounds like science fiction: sometime during fiscal 2028, ALE plans to release small particles from space, allowing those looking up from far below to watch the streaks as they dart across the night sky like natural meteors. But, it turns out, the company has been working on turning that idea into reality for years.

ALE’s first and second attempts came in 2019, launching a satellite once in January and again almost a year later, in December. Unfortunately, both of these early missions ran into technical trouble. According to ALE’s own analysis, the mechanism designed to release the pellets likely failed because metal components fused together in the vacuum of space, making it impossible for all the moving pieces to work together. For the upcoming mission, however, the company says it has redesigned and changed many of the materials used in the release system in order to avoid a repeat of that issue. This third satellite, weighing about 100 kilograms, will orbit at an altitude of roughly 400 kilometers. From there, it will release tiny metal pellets (each about a centimeter in diameter) that will act as the “seeds” of artificial shooting stars – or so ALE hopes. As the particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they are expected to burn up and glow, creating visible streaks of light just like a naturally occurring meteor shower

Combining Entertainment With Atmospheric Research

Beyond the visual spectacle, this unusual project actually has some serious scientific goals as well. The artificial meteors created by dropping pellets from a satellite are expected to travel at a slower pace than the natural meteors that normally pierce our atmosphere. Between the speed and the pre-planned location, they’ll be much easier to observe, even at altitudes of 60 to 80 kilometers, an atmospheric layer that scientists generally find difficult to study using balloons or aircraft. By tracking how these meteors burn and move, researchers hope to gather valuable data on atmospheric composition and wind speeds.

In an early February press conference, ALE’s CEO Lena Okajima acknowledged the setbacks faced in recent years, but struck an optimistic tone regarding the 2028 attempt. “We’re able to take this next step because of our two past failures,” she said, adding that the company is still striving to build a new business model that connects entertainment-driven projects and scientific research. If the 2028 demonstration succeeds, the company has announced its hopes to commercialize artificial meteor events by 2030, targeting tourist destinations and large-scale events both in Japan and abroad.

For now, the dream of scheduled shooting stars remains just out of reach, but perhaps not for long! The exact dates and viewing locations for ALE’s third artificial meteor shower attempt are expected to be announced this summer, so if you’ve got some 2028 Japan travel plans in the works, make sure to keep an eye out!

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