NASA to strengthen ties with Japan, South Korea during week of meetings

Sheri Walsh
·2 min read
UPI
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will travel to Japan and the Republic of Korea on Thursday for a week of meetings with senior government officials and leaders from JAXA and KASA to encourage international cooperation for space exploration. Photo courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls

July 10 (UPI) -- NASA is working to strengthen ties with Japan and South Korea, as the space agency prepares to meet this week with government officials in both countries.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will travel to Japan and South Korea on Thursday for a week of meetings with senior government officials and leaders from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the recently established Korea AeroSpace Administration to encourage international cooperation for space exploration.

NASA and JAXA are currently working together to advance sustainable human exploration of the moon.

In April, NASA and Japan signed an agreement to produce a pressurized lunar rover that will enable astronauts to travel and work on the moon. Japan will design, develop and operate the rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration, while NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the moon.

The agreement was signed by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama on April 9, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"It was an honor to sign the historic implementing arrangement that will be long remembered as the symbol of the new era of Japan-U.S. partnership for the lunar exploration," said Moriyama.

In addition, NASA will provide an opportunity for a Japanese astronaut to fly on a future Artemis mission to the moon under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement signed in 2022.

While in Tokyo this week, Melroy plans to participate in the Secure World Foundation's 6th Summit for Space Sustainability, which will address sustainability and debris removal while exploring space.

Melroy also will speak at the 45th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research in Busan, South Korea, to urge international collaboration in space research.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • The Answer to the Final Parsec Problem Is Suddenly Within Reach. And It May Change Science.

    A discrepancy between mathematics and physics has plagued astrophysicists’ understanding of how supermassive black holes merge, but dark matter may have the answer.

  • DNA analysis sheds light on how Neanderthals disappeared

    Modern human DNA found in Neanderthal genomes sheds light on how our archaic ancestors disappeared, according to a new study.

  • A 2,000-Year-Old Sarcophagus Was Just Unsealed—and the Mummy Inside Is Mind-Blowing

    Experts working in the Tomb of Cerberus in Naples unsealed a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus—and the mummy inside was shockingly well-preserved.

  • SpaceX Preparing to Launch Billionaire Adventurer for First Ever Private Spacewalk

    Are You Ready? SpaceX is slated to launch a billionaire benefactor into orbit for the world's first private spacewalk in the next few weeks — that is, if the mission doesn't get postponed yet again. As Space.com reports, the Elon Musk-owned company admitted in a press briefing over the weekend that its Polaris Dawn mission will […]

  • Exclusive-SpaceX in talks to land and recover Starship rocket off Australia's coast

    SpaceX is in talks with U.S. and Australian officials to land and recover one of its Starship rockets off Australia's coast, a possible first step toward a bigger presence for Elon Musk's company in the region as the two countries bolster security ties, according to three people familiar with the plans. Since a Starship rocket made a controlled splashdown for the first time in June in the Indian Ocean, SpaceX has been eager to expand its testing campaign. Successful landings and recovery of the boosters afterward are important elements of the speedy development of the giant and reusable rocket designed to launch satellites to orbit and land astronauts on the moon.

  • Archaeological dig aims to unveil area's rural past

    Volunteers say the dig is also an opportunity to connect with like-minded people.

  • The discovery of a possible sign of life in Venus’ clouds sparked controversy. Now, scientists say they have more proof

    Researchers’ detection of two gases, phosphine and ammonia, in the clouds of Venus raises speculation about possible life forms in the planet’s atmosphere.

  • Scientists Reconstructed a 52,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth’s DNA. Resurrection May Be Next.

    Scientists reconstructed the chromosomes of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth, potentially paving the way for its resurrection.

  • Scientists Analyzing Deep Space "Forest" to Map Dark Matter

    Common Denominator Dark matter, the invisible substance that accounts for over 80 percent of the universe's mass, is not an easy thing to detect. We can see its gravitational pull on visible matter, however, and of that stuff, hydrogen is the most common element out there. Look for where hydrogen clumps Taking advantage of this, […]

  • NASA will shut down NASA TV on cable to focus on NASA+

    NASA TV is shutting down in August.

  • Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy lands massive seed extension to commercialize fusion power

    Ever since a government experiment proved in 2022 that fusion isn’t as far-fetched as it once seemed, physicists, engineers, and investors have been growing increasingly bullish on the technology’s ability to deliver on its long-held — if frequently delayed — promise of providing nearly limitless amounts of emission-free power. The latest exhibit of that exuberance is Type One Energy, which today announced a fresh $53.5 million in funding. Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the extension, with Australia-based Foxglove Ventures and New Zealand-based GD1 participating.

  • SpaceX in talks to land Starship rockets off Australian coast

    STORY: SpaceX could soon be landing its rockets near Australia. Reuters sources say Elon Musk’s firm is in talks to bring one of its giant Starships down just off the coast. That follows a June test, which saw one of the rockets conduct a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. It also comes as the U.S. and Australia step up their security ties in a bid to counter China.Going ahead will require Washington to relax strict controls on the overseas use of the sophisticated technologies in the rockets, according to the sources.The plan would see a Starship blast off from Texas, land in the sea off Australia, and then be towed ashore for recovery and reuse. That could reportedly be the first phase of a more ambitious plan that would see the rockets take off from or land on Australian soil. Starships are designed to be fully reusable, and could have applications besides launching satellites and astronauts. The U.S. Air Force is examining whether they could be used to deliver cargo to the far side of the world in just 90 minutes. SpaceX has also been researching the idea, funded by a Pentagon grant.U.S. budget documents suggest it will start working on a prototype next year. Some at the Pentagon reportedly viewed the June landing in the Indian Ocean as key step towards the capability.

  • False claim Earth is 4 degrees cooler than 'medieval times' | Fact check

    Earth has warmed, not cooled, since "medieval times" and warmed around 1.36 degrees Celsius compared to average temperatures between 1850 and 1900.

  • Sperm whale killed by ship in Strait of Gibraltar

    Researchers say this is the fifth sperm whale to die after being struck by a vessel in the busy waterway.

  • The American West's last quarter-century ranks as the driest in 1,200 years, research shows

    Even after a year and a half of wet weather, research shows the American West has experienced the driest 25-year period in 1,200 years. When might the megadrought end?

  • Trump Explains Why He Told Crowd They Won’t Have To Vote, And Makes It Sound Worse

    The former president also expanded on his plans to dodge the next debate: “Everybody knows who I am.”

  • Trump sitdown at Black journalists' convention sparks backlash

    Donald Trump speaks at the country's largest annual gathering of Black journalists on Wednesday, an effort to bolster the Republican presidential candidate's standing that has divided the group's members. Trump's first-ever appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention in Chicago comes a week after the 2024 election was shaken up by President Joe Biden's decision to drop out. The group, founded in 1975, regularly invites presidential candidates to address its annual gathering, but Trump is the first Republican to accept the offer since George W. Bush spoke at a conference they co-hosted in 2004.

  • Bill Maher Boldly Thinks Travis Kelce Is Going to Dump Taylor Swift

    “He’s gonna dump her,” Bill Maher said about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift in his latest podcast episode. “I mean with her, it’s like the Gatorade at the Super Bowl. You know you’re gonna get dumped, you just don’t know when.”Maher made his comments to, of all people, Haliey Welch the girl behind the viral “Hawk Tuah” video, who didn’t disagree with the comedian’s take.“But you gotta think about it this way. If he does that, can you imagine the next album we’re gonna get off of that?” she told M

  • Princess Kate's rule-breaking sheer dress she could never wear now

    The Princess of Wales showed off her daring pre-royal wardrobe in London, wearing a sheer backless dress weeks after she rekindled her romance with Prince William in 2007.

  • Blake Lively’s nude floral lace dress is a subtle nod to flower fashion

    Blake Lively wore a Michael Kors nude leather laser-cut lace-effect floral pattern dress and flower-stem Christian Louboutin heels to promote 'It Ends With Us.'