Face-to-face meeting of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) to be held in South Korea for the first time
Revisions on the "Global Exploration Roadmap (GER)" to be discussed
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong Ho, hereinafter referred to as "MSIT") and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (President Lee Sang-Ryul, hereinafter referred to as "KARI") announced that the two organizations will host the "2023 International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) Senior Agency Management (SAM) Meeting" from December 7th (Thu.) to 8th (Fri.) at Gyeong Won Jae Ambassador in Songdo, Incheon.
ISECG is an international consultative body established to promote cooperation and exchanges in the field of space exploration among space agencies across the globe. As for Korea, KARI has been participating as a founding member of ISECG since 2007, while this year's ISECG SAM Meeting marks the first time for Korea to host the event.
The Korean delegation will be led by Choi Byeong Il, Director General for Space Cooperation, and Kim Seong Hoon, KARI Vice President. Other attendees of the 2023 ISECG SAM Meeting include the United States National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA)’s Jim Free, who is the Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, Daniel Neuenschwander, Director for Human and Robotics Exploration of the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as space exploration leaders from Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and more. These attendees will discuss the international efforts for space exploration, gathered in one place.
During this annual meeting, space exploration leaders from member agencies worldwide will first share the status quo of and roadmap for space exploration in their respective countries. Next, they will receive updates on the activities of ISECG over the past year, and discuss the guidelines for future actions. In particular, the main agenda item of this meeting concerns the direction of revisions to be made on the "Global Exploration Roadmap (GER)*," which is the most well-known publication of ISECG.
* Documents the vision, goals, scenarios, etc., for space exploration shared among all ISECG member agencies.
After the publication of the "3rd Global Exploration Roadmap (GER-3)" in 2018, ISECG has been working on the "4th Global Exploration Roadmap (GER-4)" with the goal of publishing the report by the second half, next year. This new edition aims to reflect changes in global space exploration environment, spanning from policy shifts in traditional spacefaring nations, such as the recent manned lunar exploration missions by the US and China, to increased activities and participations from emerging countries including Korea.
As the host country, South Korea was provided with the opportunity to promote its accomplishments in space exploration to the international community on the occasion of this meeting. In detail, Korea showcases the development and operational achievements of Korea's first homegrown lunar orbiter Danuri (also known as Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, KPLO), and presents its replica and the lunar surface images it captured to the audience.
Meanwhile, a working-level ISECG workshop was held from December 4th (Mon.) to 6th (Wed.) in Daejeon. The list of attendees includes Stefaan De May, Chair of ISECG, representatives from each member agency, and the Joint Chairs of the seven working groups* under ISECG. From the Korean side, Cheon Yee-Jin, Head of the KARI Satellite & Space Exploration Systems Engineering and Architecture R&D Division, had participated in working-level discussions and exchanges of opinions on the subject matter at the workshop.
* Exploration Roadmap Working Group (ERWG), International Architecture Working Group (IAWG), Technology Working Group (TWG), Strategic Communications Working Group (SCWG), Science Working Group (SWG), Emerging Space Agencies Working Group (ESAWG), Commercialization Working Group (CWG)
Deputy Minister Noh Gyeong Won for Research and Development (R&D) Policy stated, "As we enter the era of space economy, South Korea's role as the host country for this meeting, where space exploration leaders from each country gather to discuss the future direction of the international effort for space exploration, bears a significant meaning." He further stated that, "Building upon the previous success of launching and operating Danuri, we will actively partake in global space exploration projects, engaging in the search for various strategic options that will take Korea beyond the Moon and venture toward asteroids and Mars."
For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Please refer to the attached PDF.