The overall objectives of JERS-1 (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite) were:

• Generation of global data sets with SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and OPS (Optical Sensor) sensors in order to survey resources
• Establishing an integrated Earth observation system
• Verifying instrument/system performances.

The mission applications focused on a survey of geological phenomena, land usage (agriculture, forestry), observation of coastal regions, geologic maps, environment, disaster monitoring, and more.

The primary objective of JERS-1 was to gather data on global land masses while conducting observation for land surveys, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, environmental protection, disaster prevention and coastal surveillance, with emphasis on locating natural resources. In order to optimise accuracy in measurements, JERS-1 was equipped with SAR, which is an active microwave sensor, and OPS, an optical sensor that measures light reflected from Earth's surface ranging from visible light to shortwave infrared light.