· The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) held a bilateral meeting with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), recently.
· In the meeting, the on-going cooperation in earth observation, lunar cooperation and satellite navigation between the two sides were reviewed.
· In addition to that, ISRO and JAXA have agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in space situational awareness and professional exchange programme.· An ‘Implementing Arrangement’ for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data was also signed.
· The objective of this mission is to obtain information regarding the abundance, distribution, and condensation mechanism of water at the lunar polar region in order to evaluate the possibility of using water as a resource in future missions.
· In this mission, the ISRO and JAXA plan to develop a lander and a rover, respectively.
LUPEX mission
· JAXA, in collaboration with ISRO, is planning to launch a lunar polar exploration mission (LUPEX) around 2024.· The objective of this mission is to obtain information regarding the abundance, distribution, and condensation mechanism of water at the lunar polar region in order to evaluate the possibility of using water as a resource in future missions.
· In this mission, the ISRO and JAXA plan to develop a lander and a rover, respectively.
