[4] The three primary objectives of the mission, as identified by NASDA, were to:[5] The project had a proposed minimum life of three years, with a five-year goal.

[6] The satellite was equipped with five primary instruments: Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), Global Imager (GLI), Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer-II (ILAS-II), Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER), and SeaWinds.

[8] GLI (GLobal Imager) is an optical sensor to observe solar radiation reflected from Earth's surface and map vegetation, clouds, etc.

[10] POLDER measures the polarization, and spectral characteristics of the solar light reflected by aerosols, clouds, oceans and land surfaces.

Eight narrow band wavelengths (443, 490, 564, 670, 763, 765, 865, and 910 nm) are covered by the instrument which enables identification of the physical and optical properties of the aerosols and their role in radiation budget.

[11] SeaWinds is a scatterometer that provides wind speed and direction by observing the microwave reflection from ocean surfaces.

[2] The C&DH subsystem received and decoded the satellite's tracking control command signals and acted as a processing interface between the instruments.

[2] The RCS was used to generate propulsion power for attitude adjustments after deployment and control orbit using data from the AOCS.

ADEOS II also sent mission data directly to NASA stations, which routed information to bodies such as the EOC and sensor-providing organisations.

[13] The satellite was successfully launched from Tanegashima Space Center pad YLP-1 on 14 December 2002, aboard H-IIA 202.

The investigation team began surveying the mission to establish whether the failure was due to a technical malfunction or a solar flare.