1. News on APRSAF Activities

1)APRSAF-26 to be held in Nagoya, Japan in November
We are delighted to announce the dates and venue for the 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-26).
Dates: November 26-29, 2019
Venue: Nagoya Convention Hall
The annual meeting will be organized jointly by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Further details will be posted on the link below:
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf26/meeting_details.php

2)APRSAF Newsletter No. 29 featuring the results of APRSAF-25 has been published and is now available on the following website:
http://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/pdf/Newsletter29.pdf

2. News from APRSAF Community

1) Japanese Spacecraft Finds that Asteroid Ryugu Is Surprisingly Dry
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft has revealed new clues about the early solar system.
A Japanese spacecraft studying the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu beamed home new data revealing that the space rock has less water than scientists expected.
The spacecraft, Hayabusa2, arrived at Ryugu on June 27, 2018. Since then, the probe has surveyed the asteroid's surface and landed multiple robotic probes on its rocky terrain.
In February, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) completed a complicated touchdown maneuver to collect samples from Ryugu's surface, which will be brought back to Earth in a return capsule in late 2020.

Reference:
https://www.space.com/hayabusa2-reveals-asteroid-ryugu-missing-water.html

2) UAE Cabinet Approves National Space Strategy 2030
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has adopted the National Space Strategy 2030 during its meeting at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi. The Cabinet meeting was attended by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Sheikh Mohammed asserted that the UAE has established an economic powerhouse and advanced infrastructure by young Emirati talents, which enables it to be at the forefront of the space exploration industry.

Reference:
https://uaecabinet.ae/en/details/news/uae-cabinet-approves-national-space-strategy-2030

3) University of Science and Technology of Hanoi Established The Aeronautical Laboratory
The Aeronautical Laboratory was established on February 26, 2019, with 1.1 million USD financial support from Airbus, as well as strong support from 2 leading aviation companies in Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO) and 2 leading aeronautical training institutions in Europe: French Civil Aviation University (ENAC), Institut Aeronautique et Spatial (IAS) and the USTH Consortium. The laboratory with modern equipment and international standardized facilities will provide an ideal research and practice environment for aeronautical program students, lecturers and researchers, and become a focal point among the international laboratories of USTH.

Reference:
https://www.usth.edu.vn/en/events/Opening-Ceremony-of-the-Aeronautical-Laboratory.html

4) NASA Mission Reveals Origins of Moon's 'Sunburn'
Every object, planet or person traveling through space has to contend with the Sun's damaging radiation -and the Moon has the scars to prove it. Research using data from NASA's ARTEMIS mission -short for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun -suggests how the solar wind and the Moon's crustal magnetic fields work together to give the Moon a distinctive pattern of darker and lighter swirls.

Reference:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasa-mission-reveals-origins-of-moons-sunburn

5) JAXA and Toyota Reach Agreement on Taking Up the Challenge of International Space Exploration -Aim is to make future lunar mobility a reality-
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) agreed to study the possibility of collaborating on international space exploration. As a first step, JAXA and Toyota agreed to further cooperate on and accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover that employs fuel cell vehicle technologies. Such a form of mobility is deemed necessary for human exploration activities on the lunar surface. Even with the limited amount of energy that can be transported to the moon, the pressurized rover would have a total lunar-surface cruising range of more than 10,000 km.

Reference:
http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2019/03/20190312a.html

3. Event Calendar

-COPUOS 2019 LSC 2019 Session
(1-12 April 2019 Vienna, Austria)
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/lsc/2019/index.html

-35th Space Symposium
(8-11 April 2019 Colorado, United States)
https://www.spacesymposium.org/

-GEO Symposium 2019
(27-29 May 2019 Geneva, Switzerland)
https://www.earthobservations.org/me_2019_wps.php

Copyright 2020 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update readers on
recent developments in space-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
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