Dr. Yamakawa, the President of JAXA, and Mr. Palermo, the Head of ASA, held an online bilateral meeting on March 22, 2021.

During the meeting, the two sides shared information on their future plans and exchanged views on the possibility of cooperation in the fields of international space exploration and space science.

Since the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between JAXA and ASA in July last year, space cooperation between the two countries has been a topic of discussion at the summit meeting. Building on the cooperation established in the “Hayabusa2” capsule recovery mission, the two agencies concluded the meeting by confirming that they will further promote cooperation and contribute to the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

An online top-level meeting between Dr. YAMAKAWA Hiroshi, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was held on March 11, 2021.

At the meeting, both agencies updated each other on their recent space activities and future plans, and confirmed the progress of ongoing joint cooperative projects such as the Utilization of Earth Observation Satellite Data, which aims to use Earth observation data to monitor heavy rainfall and rice-crop outlook, and the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, which investigates water, a critical element for sustainable human activities on the Moon.

It has been 5 years since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JAXA and ISRO, and the two agencies concluded the meeting by confirming that their mutual understanding has deepened and cooperation has expanded, and that they will continue to strengthen their cooperative relationship going forward.

Taking the opportunity of this meeting, both agencies signed an Implementation Arrangement (IA) on rice crop planted area monitoring and air quality monitoring. The two agencies will jointly conduct research to improve the data accuracy on the yields of paddy rice, which is a staple food in Asia, as well as aerosols, which impacts air quality.

Dr. YAMAKAWA Hiroshi, President of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Cnel. DEM (R) Liduvino Vielman Díaz, President of the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) on March 14, 2021.

It was signed on the same day the first Paraguayan satellite GUARANISAT-1 successfully deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module (KIBO) into orbit.

Based on this LOI, JAXA and AEP have confirmed mutual intention to start dialogues to explore possibilities of cooperation in space activities for peaceful purposes.

Signing the LOI (left: Cnel. DEM (R) Liduvino Vielman Díaz, AEP President / right: Dr. YAMAWAKA Hiroshi, JAXA President)

The joint team of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), the Infrastructure Development Institute (IDI) and JAXA was given the “Dr. Roman L. Kintanar Award for Typhoon-Related Disaster Mitigation - 2020”.

The Dr. Roman L. Kintanar Award is given annually to an organization that has made a significant contribution to the activities of the Typhoon Committee, an inter-governmental body established under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to reduce the damage caused by typhoons.

JAXA has developed the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP). The GSMaP has contributed significantly to flood prediction in the Typhoon Committee Region. This is the first time that Japanese organizations, other than the Japan Meteorological Agency, got the award.

Acceptance speech by ICHARM Executive Director KOIKE at the 53rd session of the
ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC) hosted online by Japan on February 23-25, 2021

※Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP)

The GSMaP is a global rainfall map developed by combining the multi satellites under the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The users have spread to 138 countries in the world, and the GSMaP is being used in various fields such as precipitation monitoring, flood forecasting, drought monitoring, agriculture, and so on.