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Japanese space visionary commends UAE Mars mission for its global cooperation

At the conference he showed excitement about the possibilities that could come from further international cooperation on space missions. (AFP)
At the conference he showed excitement about the possibilities that could come from further international cooperation on space missions. (AFP)
At the conference he showed excitement about the possibilities that could come from further international cooperation on space missions. (ANJ Photo)
At the conference he showed excitement about the possibilities that could come from further international cooperation on space missions. (ANJ Photo)
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12 Oct 2020 06:10:09 GMT9
12 Oct 2020 06:10:09 GMT9

Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: Takeshi Hakamada, the founder and CEO of ispace, inc., said on Sunday that the successful launch of the UAE’s Hope Probe to Mars this summer marked the first step of international cooperation with regard to space.

Hakamada was speaking at the G1 Global Conference, an annual forum held in Tokyo where leaders and experts from various fields, including politics, business and technology, come together to discuss their visions for the future.

The Hope Probe is the first mission to the red planet by an Arab country and the project has relied on multinational l cooperation, including by being launched from a site in Japan.

Hakamada’s company is a lunar exploration company with goals such as tapping into potential water resources on the moon and creating a space-based economy. At the conference he showed excitement about the possibilities that could come from further international cooperation on space missions.

According to Hakamada, space could one day be used for agriculture or even sustainable fisheries, with benefits to countries all around the globe, including in Africa and Southeast Asia. He told Arab News Japan that UAE has already entered the race and established itself for more advancement in the space sector.

He also noted that there would be financial incentives for space projects to be globally based, as more countries involved translates to a bigger budget.

Aspects of space tourism as a future business was also discussed. Naoko Yamazaki, a Japanese astronaut said the situation today is different from five years ago “when the space tourism was a dream.” Now, she said, “we are very close to the era of space tourism flights with the advancements of technology and communications among other things.

Yamasaki said governments have to set up legislations to facilitate the progress, and cooperation is needed more between nations on one side, and between the private sector and the government on the other side.

Along with Hakamada and Yamasaki, panelists included Lewis Pinault  Founding Partner with Airbus Ventures, and Atsushi Sunami, President of Ocean Policy Research Institute at The Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

They agreed that the coming decade will be a pivotal one for taking the next steps toward exploring, utilizing, working, and eventually living, in space.

They addressed the role of government, industry, entrepreneurs and investors in this market.

The last 20 years has seen the rise of a vibrant commercial space sector propelled by a combination of traditional aerospace giants, a few successful start-ups and many venture companies.

All of this activity is supported by increased government spending and growing global understanding about the importance of space exploration and utilization to our daily lives and to future generations, they said.

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