JAXA President Naoki Okumura, Chairof the DLR Executive Board, Pascale Ehrenfreund and Hansjörg Dittus, DLR Executive Board Member responsible for Space Research and Technology during the signing of the joint declaration in Tokyo.
On 20 September 2017, the JAXA - GLOBAL and the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) signed a joint declaration for the continuation of their project-related cooperation. This partnership is of great importance to both parties: science is becoming an increasingly important for society and is therefore also a connecting element between nations. DLR is currently cooperating with 18 scientific institutions and universities in Japan in more than 50 projects. These include, for example, projects in Earth observation and planetary research, space robotics and atmospheric research, as well as aeronautics research.
Last year's strategic partnership between JAXA and DLR was followed by 12 months of intensive talks between scientists and engineers from both research facilities as well as industrial enterprises in Germany and Japan. Concrete projects and missions have been discussed. The focus was on the development and use of space and aeronautics technologies, which help provide solutions to global societal challenges, as well as the identification and creation of synergies in this German-Japanese cooperation. The common goal is to increase the scientific and economic competitiveness of both countries. The focus has been placed on joint activities for the acquisition and processing of satellite data on greenhouse gases.
