Agencies Will Explore Cooperative Efforts In Space

During a meeting Thursday at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) in Seoul, South Korea, NASA's Assistant Administrator for External Relations, Michael F. O'Brien, and MEST's Director-General for Big Science, Munki Lee, signed a joint statement of intent identifying potential interest in cooperation in civil space and aeronautics activities.

According to the statement, the two agencies agree to conduct discussions to identify new cooperative activities related to space exploration, Earth science, planetary science, human space flight and aeronautics research. The fundamental goal of these discussions will be to advance the interests of both nations through cooperation in space and aeronautics programs. A joint report is expected eight months from today's signing.

The discussions are intended to explore a wide range of potential cooperative efforts, including exchange of research data and analysis, potential contributions of scientific instruments and hardware to support future missions, and collaborative exploration architecture planning.

The discussions may also include the International Lunar Network, an ongoing multilateral initiative to establish a robotic network on the surface of the moon; the Global Exploration Strategy, a dialogue involving fourteen international space agencies for enhanced international cooperation in space exploration; and the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, a multilateral effort to coordinate space exploration activities among government space agencies.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.kari.re.kr/