IRF and JAXA discuss future collaborations

Last week, IRF Director General Olle Norberg and scientist Yoshifumi Futaana met with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) President Dr Hiroshi Yamakawa, in Stockholm. Together with Swedish National Space Agency Director General Ella Carlsson and representatives from Business Sweden, they discussed ongoing collaborations and opportunities for future joint initiatives.

IRF and JAXA collaborate on Solar System exploration, combining IRF’s expertise in scientific instruments with Japanese and international space missions. A prominent example is the ESA–JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, to which IRF contributes three instruments and in which it has leading scientific roles. The collaboration encompasses both the development of advanced space instruments and joint research based on measurements made in space.

IRF has been collaborating with JAXA and Japanese scientists for three decades and continues this collaboration through missions including BepiColombo to Mercury, Juice to Jupiter, and MMX to Mars and its two moons. Dialogue between IRF and JAXA at all levels is important, including meetings with the President of JAXA, says Prof. Yoshifumi Futaana.