Japan is eyeing expanded space cooperation with Malaysia in a bid to deepen diplomatic and economic ties with the Southeast Asian country, and as part of an effort to balance against China's powerful influence through such programmes as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the region.

A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H-IIA satellite launch vehicle successfully lofted an electro-optical Intelligence Gathering Satellite (IGS) on behalf of the Japanese Cabinet Office from the Tanegashima Space Centre, Kagoshima Prefecture, in southwest Japan on 9 February 2020.

Astroscale Holdings Inc., the market-leader in developing technology and services to remove space debris and secure long-term orbital sustainability, announced on 23 January 2020 it has been awarded a grant of up to U.S.$4.5 million from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Innovation Tokyo Project” to build a roadmap for commercializing active …

In remarks made marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan at both a commemorative ceremony and in the Japanese Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged that Japan will make efforts to counter threats in space and cyberspace and that the Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) will stand up its Space Domain Mission Unit (SDMU) in April 2020, with the aim of having it fully operational by 2022.

The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology at Sharjah University hosted a joint Emirati-Japanese workshop on planetary exploration, in cooperation with the UAE Space Agency, the Chiba Institute of Technology and CITJAMSS.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) announced on 23 December 2019 it has been designated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the prime contractor of the new satellite for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2. Under the program, Mitsubishi Electric aims to establish a standardized platform for designing, manufacturing and operating small 100kg-class satellites incorporating standard parts for key functions such as attitude control and power supply.

Spare a thought this Christmas for researchers hunkered down on their Polarstern icebreaker, adrift in the frozen Arctic Ocean. Subjected to temperatures as low as -45 C and the perpetual darkness of the polar winter, they are willing participants in MOSAiC - the world's largest and longest polar research expedition.

Japanese satellite and space industry giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced that an MHI H-IIA satellite launch vehicle will send Japan's eighth Intelligence Gathering System (IGS) reconnaissance satellite into orbit from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwest Japan, on 27 January 2020.

Recently established Australian ground segment operator Capricorn Space and Japanese Ground Segment as a Service provider Infostellar have signed an agreement that will enable Infostellar customers access to their satellite constellations from the Australian Ground Network – West (AGN-W) site near Mingenew in Western Australia.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has shipped a 16kg Target satellite for Astroscale's End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstration (ELSA-d) mission to Tokyo, where it will be bolted to the Chaser satellite for environmental testing ahead of launch in 2020.