The “Annual Report 2020” of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) provides an overview of the ISECG achievements and activities over the past year.
2020 was again characterised by dynamic developments in international space exploration. In particular, governmental and private activities towards the Moon continued to gain momentum. Reflecting related changes and potential opportunities ISECG agencies have updated and expanded the international lunar surface exploration scenario and released an update of the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER), entitled “GER Supplement August 2020”. The Annual Report 2020 provides indication of key features and elements of the updated scenario that are addressed in the supplement.
In order to thoroughly prepare for future mission scenarios, understanding performance characteristics of advanced technologies and identifying technology gaps is key. ISECG continued to review the GER Critical Technology Portfolio with support of subject-matter experts from participating agencies and mapping the portfolio to agency technology development plans and activities. The ISECG Annual Report 2020 provides examples of focus areas of the technology gap assessment, namely Autonomous Systems, ISRU (In-situ Resource Utilisation) and Nuclear Power and Propulsion. More information can be found under the Advanced Technology section on the ISECG website.
Furthermore, the international space community has been showing strong interest in ISECG and its work, and six space agencies have become new members of ISECG in 2020 for a total of twenty-six.
Download the ISECG Annual Report 2020 and the GER Supplement August 2020.