[meteorite-list] Space Agencies Meet To Discuss A Global Exploration Roadmap

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:46:22 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201108310046.p7V0kMV4019898_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Aug. 30, 2011

Michael Braukus/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979/5241
michael.j.braukus at nasa.gov/j.d.harrington at nasa.gov


RELEASE: 11-280

SPACE AGENCIES MEET TO DISCUSS A GLOBAL EXPLORATION ROADMAP

WASHINGTON -- Senior managers representing 10 space agencies from
around the world met in Kyoto, Japan today to advance the Global
Exploration Roadmap for coordinated space exploration.

During the past year, the International Space Exploration Coordination
Group (ISECG) has developed a long-range human exploration strategy.
It begins with the International Space Station and expands human
presence throughout the solar system, leading ultimately to human
missions to explore the surface of Mars. The roadmap flows from this
strategy and identifies two potential pathways: "Asteroid Next" and
"Moon Next."

Each pathway represents a mission scenario over a 25-year period
describing a logical sequence of robotic and human missions. Both
pathways were deemed practical approaches addressing common
high-level exploration goals developed by the participating agencies,
recognizing that individual preferences among participating space
agencies may vary regarding these pathways.

The first iteration of the roadmap will inform and focus the planning
currently underway in each of the partner agencies in the areas of
planetary robotic exploration, advanced technology development and
use of the space station in preparation for exploration. It was
agreed that during the next few weeks, this initial version of the
Global Exploration Roadmap would be finalized and released to the
public.

Yoshiyuki Hasagawa of Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, in his
capacity as chairman of the International Space Exploration
Coordination Group said, "We are very happy with the progress of the
Global Exploration Roadmap to technically coordinate both near and
long term space exploration planning, with world space agencies."

During the meeting, the senior agency managers also reaffirmed the
role of the ISECG to facilitate the ability of space agencies to take
concrete steps toward partnerships that reflect a globally
coordinated exploration effort.

"NASA is confident that the release of this product, and subsequent
refinements as circumstances within each space agency evolve, will
facilitate the ability of space agencies to form the partnerships
that will ensure robust and sustainable human exploration," said
NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations
and outgoing ISECG chair William Gerstenmaier.

The ISECG was established as a voluntary, non-binding international
coordination forum, where the partner agencies that contributed to
the Global Exploration Strategy (GES) can exchange information
regarding interests, plans, and activities in space exploration.

The GES set forth a shared vision for concerted human and robotic
space exploration missions focused on solar system destinations where
humans may one day live and work. Another stated goal is to encourage
the partners to work together on strengthening both individual
exploration programs and collective efforts.

The development of the Global Exploration Roadmap is the second step
toward achieving this goal, following the development of the ISECG
Reference Architecture for Human Lunar Exploration.

The countries participating in the meeting included in alphabetical
order: Canada, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of
Korea, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States.

For more information about NASA and human exploration visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/index.html

-end-
Received on Tue 30 Aug 2011 08:46:22 PM PDT