India, Japan mulling possible joint lunar mission: ISRO chief

Discussions are underway between India and Japan on making use of space segment for providing inputs on weather-monitoring parameters and also on joint lunar mission, ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said on Friday.

"We are looking at a future for a possible joint lunar mission. In future, we will also be looking at how we can make use of this relationship for generating more input for climate change studies," Kumar told reporters at the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum 24 conference here.

Kumar said there is a visible change in the relationship between space agencies of India and Japan, which are both working together for looking at possible future cooperative mission.

Asked if China took into account the "competitiveness" of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to announce their plans to cut cost of launching satellites, Kumar said there is a move by space agencies around the world including India and China, to reduce the cost of accessing space.

"In general, the endeavour of all space agencies is to make access to space cheaper. Unless you are able to reach there at lower costs, many of the activities including power generation, will not be feasible," he said.

"Hence, in this context, almost all agencies are working towards making the cost of access to space cheaper and cheaper," he said.

Recently, China had joined the global race to cut the cost of launching rockets, and announced its plans to bring down prices to USD 5,000 a kg.