JAXA-ESA Joint Statement on Next Big Cooperations
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
On November 20, 2024, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) held
an Inter-Agency Meeting to discuss furthering their bilateral cooperation. In the meeting JAXA and ESA signed a
joint statement on Next Big Cooperations between the two agencies.
Signers
Dr. YAMAKAWA Hiroshi, President of JAXA
Dr. Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA
©JAXA
JAXA President Dr. Yamakawa Hiroshi (Left) and ESA
Director General Dr. Josef Aschbacher (Right)
JAXA-ESA Joint Statement on Next Big Cooperations
On 20 November 2024, JAXA President, Hiroshi Yamakawa, and ESA Director General, Josef Aschbacher, held a
meeting in Tsukuba, Ibaraki to discuss next big cooperative missions between the two agencies. On that occasion,
both Heads of Agency confirmed the following:
(Continuation, expansion, and deepening of the cooperative relationship between the agencies)
The Heads of the two agencies acknowledged the existing numerous cooperation activities between ESA and JAXA
that have been carried out over many years based on a trusted and productive relationship. They confirmed that
significant results have been achieved through cooperation in the International Space Station (ISS) program and
emphasized that cooperation on the Gateway program, a crewed space station orbiting the Moon, will play an important
role for future sustainable exploration. On-going joint missions such as
Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) launched in May 2024, an atmospheric observation mission measuring the structure of clouds, aerosols and
radiation that aims to contribute to efforts to tackle climate change issues, and BepiColombo, a Mercury scientific
mission which is approaching the planet to study the origin and evolution of the planet closest to the Sun, are in
operation in space and already producing outstanding data. Both Heads confirmed that all existing cooperative
missions are bringing significant benefits to the two agencies and to the societies as well as international
scientific community.
(Next big cooperation)
The Heads of the two agencies recognized the importance of continuation and expansion of the bilateral
JAXA-ESA cooperation and shared common views of the necessity of seeking next big cooperative missions, which would
contribute to the betterment of societies. The two agencies discussed and studied on potential big
cooperation missions for one year.
During the meeting, both Heads of Agency confirmed a path forward between the two agencies to build up these
big cooperation missions, which is as follows;
- The two agencies, taking into consideration that year 2029 is designated
by the United Nations as the “International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence”, recognized
significance to internationally promote their activities for Planetary Defence that contributes to preparation
for a potential threat by the near-Earth objects. ESA’s Hera, the mission to a binary asteroid system for
planetary defence and science, with JAXA’s cooperation, was launched in October 2024 and is planned to reach the
target asteroid in 2026. Two agencies agreed to accelerate to study potential cooperation for ESA’s Rapid
Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES) which aims to explore the asteroid Apophis that will pass close to our
planet on 13 April 2029, including but not limited to provision of thermal infrared imager and solar array wings
as well as possible launch opportunities. - The two agencies agreed to continue the close cooperation in the field
of Earth Observation with the synergetic use of multiple missions and exploitation of data in support to climate
change and recognized that the Greenhouse gases monitoring from space could contribute to producing trust
information on anthropogenic Greenhouse gases emission which is crucial for the society to take collective
actions to reduce the impacts of the climate change. Two agencies agreed to explore the possibility of a joint
mission for monitoring facility to city scale anthropogenic emissions to fill the observation gaps of current
and planned Greenhouse gases monitoring missions in the world. - On Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Exploration, the two agencies will
- continue their ongoing dialogue regarding future LEO activities to
pursue joint efforts in expanding the economic sphere as well as bringing further scientific and societal
benefits, meeting institutional needs and requirements in LEO after the ISS and leveraging on its heritage. - examine cooperation between ESA and JAXA in the area of lunar
exploration, considering their contributing elements to the overall Artemis architecture, including ESA’s
cargo lander “Argonaut” and JAXA’s Pressurized Rover. Jointly conducting lunar analogue demonstration, using
ESA LUNA facility, to support development of their operation scenarios on the lunar surface, will be a good
candidate for cooperation. Further possibilities to be investigated relate to synergizing multiple robotic
missions, including commercially provided opportunities by Japanese and European companies such as small
rover opportunities with the aim of contributing to new scientific discovery as well as human exploration on
the lunar surface, by leveraging expertise to be obtained by the planned missions including the Lunar Polar
Exploration (LUPEX) Mission. - continue to work on ensuring and demonstrating interoperability of
lunar communication and navigation capabilities, leveraging on Moonlight, in close coordination with NASA,
contributing to joint Cis-lunar infrastructure supporting the sustainable lunar exploration. - advance discussions on a potential collaborative Mars mission
leveraging each agency’s capabilities, such as electric propulsion, Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) system
enabling precise small-lander missions to Mars in the 2030s.
- continue their ongoing dialogue regarding future LEO activities to
- The two agencies support the continuing collaborative efforts in Space Science for the ESA-led New Athena (New Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics) mission, and for the
Medium-class missions candidates M-MATISSE and Plasma Observatory presently under competitive study. The two
agencies support the continuation of the dialogue for a potential cooperation in the next Large mission in ESA’s
Science Programme focused on the Moons of Giant Planets and for the JAXA-led LiteBIRD mission.
Based on the progress described above, both Heads of two Agencies agreed to further advance cooperation in
these fields.