Japanese Space Agency Welcomed as Member of Disaster Charter

Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2005 - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was welcomed today as the newest member of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters," which establishes a global network of international space partners in disaster management. The Charter is a joint effort to put space technology at the service of rescue authorities in the event of a major disaster.

JAXA Executive Director Yoji Furuhama signed the Charter in Brussels, Belgium during the European Union's Earth and Space Week and the Third Earth Observation Summit. Also present were the European Space Agency's Director of Earth Observation Volker Liebig, Canadian Space Agency President Marc Garneau, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, and Argentine Space Agency (CONAE) Executive Director Conrado Franco Varotto.

"The Charter is an excellent example of international cooperation in the field of natural disasters, as it has recently been demonstrated in connection with the tsunami in South Asia," Volker Liebig commented after the ceremony.

"We are proud to have JAXA join its space partners in supporting the Disaster Charter, particularly since the Charter has so recently proven the relevance of space in alleviating human suffering caused by natural and technological disasters," said Canadian Space Agency President Marc Garneau.

Each Charter member agency has demonstrated a commitment to using space technology to serve humankind when it is in most in need of assistance—when disasters of both natural and human origins strike the world’s communities or wreak havoc on the environment. To date, the Charter has been activated on more than 70 occasions since its inception in 2000.

Most recently, the Charter was invoked on December 26 after the tsunami in south Asia. It covered three disaster-stricken zones along the coasts of southern India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia-Thailand. Member agencies contributed an estimated 200 satellite images, providing essential information about areas where surface access was impossible or difficult. Images were used as base maps for assessing damage to infrastructure and coastal habitations, for measuring the extent of sea surge, and for identifying the areas where emergency aid was most needed.

With the addition of JAXA, disaster management authorities will now have access to many more satellite data archives. Japan's soon-to-be-launched Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) will also join the constellation of Earth-observation satellites that form the core of the Charter's space-based resources.

Following the UNISPACE III conference held in Vienna, Austria in July 1999, the European Space Agency and France's Centre national d'études spatiales initiated the Charter, with the Canadian Space Agency signing in 2000. Other members include the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Argentine Space Agency (CONAE).

For more information, please contact:

Simonetta Cheli
Head of Public and Institutional Relations, ESA/ESRIN
Tel.: + 39.06.9418.0350
Fax: + 39.06.9418.0352