On 11th March 2021, The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) & Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) virtually reviewed the progress made under the Joint Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission. LUPEX is a robotic Lunar mission that aims to send a lander and rover to the Moon’s south pole in the year 2024.
- The discussions took place in a virtual meeting between ISRO & JAXA. The Indian side was led by ISRO Chairman K Sivan while the Japan delegation was represented by Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of JAXA.
Other Collaboration activities:
- The two sides also reviewed the on-going cooperation in earth observation, lunar cooperation & satellite navigation.
- The two sides signed an ‘Implementing Arrangement’ for collaborative activities on rice crop area & air quality monitoring using Satellite Data.
LUPEX
Under the LUPEX mission, JAXA will provide an under-development H3 Launch Vehicle; ISRO will be responsible for providing the lander system.
Mission objective: –
- Observation of areas where water is believed to exist on the moon
- Obtain Ground Data on the quantity of water, understanding distribution, conditions, form & other parameters of lunar water resources in the polar region.
- Obtain data on the quantity & forms of water resources present on the Moon.
Agreement with other Countries
- In March 2021, India & Italy decided to jointly explore opportunities in earth observation, space science and robotic and human exploration.
- In February 2021, India & Australia signed an agreement for hosting vital tracking infrastructure to support India’s 1st Gaganyaan manned space flight mission which is set to be launched in 2022.
Recent Related News:
i.On February 17, 2021, Australian Space Agency & Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) signed an Amendment of the ‘2012 India – Australia Inter-Governmental MoU for cooperation in Civil Space Science, Technology and Education for enhancing cooperation between the two countries in Civil Space Activities.
About ISRO:
It operates under Department of Space (DoS)
Established – 1969
Headquarters – K Sivan
