Today, Japan’s space agency the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), issued a joint statement on bilateral cooperation in the areas of Green House Gasses (GHG) data, space exploration and planetary science.
The statement was issued after a meeting between President of JAXA Dr. Naoki Okumura and CEO of DLR Prof. Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund in Japan, with plans to initiate projects and working groups within the next six months.
The meeting discussed the use of satellite Green House Gases (GHG) data and to promote its applications globally; JAXA currently owns and operates the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSat), the world’s first greenhouse-gas-monitoring satellite launched in 2009.
Also discussed was the area of space exploration – both parties agreed to conduct microgravity experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future collaborations beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Lastly, JAXA and DLR mentioned their current partnerships in asteroid missions; currently, JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is carrying DLR’s Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT), and will reach the asteroid Ryugu next year. Also, the two agencies will collaborate the upcoming DESTINY mission, which will carry a German dust analyzer.
