India and Japan are looking to team up for an unmanned mission to gather samples from Asia in a bid to overtake China in the Asian space race. The fast-tracked Chinese lunar exploration programme has put the country on par with the US and Russia. A joint moon mission between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would allow the pair to pool resources when up against their economically stronger rivals and also stimulate development of technologies such as electric ion propulsion engines.
India and Japan are looking to team up for an unmanned mission to gather samples from the moon surface in a bid to overtake China in the Asian space race. The fast-tracked Chinese lunar exploration programme has put the country on par with the US and Russia. A joint moon mission between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would allow the pair to pool resources when up against their economically stronger rivals and also stimulate development of technologies such as electric ion propulsion engines.