Yokohama, Japan, 10-12 March, 2009.
Representatives of nine space agencies from around the world met under the banner of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) and discussed [studied/ analyzed] scenarios for conducting internationally coordinated robotic and human exploration of activities on the Moon. This was one of several results arising from a meeting held on March 10-12, 2009, in Yokohama Japan. The meeting, which was chaired by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), focused on progress to date of various ongoing ISECG activities intended to foster cooperation in the robotic and human exploration of locations in the Solar System where humans may someday live and work in the spirit of the Global Exploration Strategy (GES)1.
The meeting participants debated several scenarios for conducting internationally coordinated robotic and human exploration activities on the Moon. These scenarios include short duration or extended stay missions any lunar location, and longer duration missions for up to six months at a polar location on the Moon. They covered the development and placement of infrastructure systems in space and on the surface of the Moon, and identified critical system interfaces, which, if standardized, would increase the interoperability and the long-term sustainability of the collective exploration efforts. The meeting participants recognized that these scenarios enabled the participating agencies to ensure achievement of the broadest range of co-operative lunar exploration objectives, while achieving their individual objectives. Several agencies expressed interest in building upon these scenarios to define reference architecture.
The meeting participants also made significant progress in a number of other areas including means of progressing the GES Objectives and achieving them through cooperation, the development of tools for sharing information on exploration capabilities and mission plans across agencies, relationships with existing international working groups, and plans for conducting effective public engagement.