The Future of Space Cooperation Between the U.S. and Japan

by David Kipping, Christian Johnson, Sho Nakanose, Pete Worden, Ishii Yasuo, Bonnie L. Triezenberg, Chad J. R. Ohlandt, Ron Lopez, Isaac Arthur, Scott W. Harold

Over two days, experts from the United States and Japan presented their vision for the future of space science and exploration, cooperation between the U.S. and Japan, and the future space economy. These videos include each presentation from the March 2022 event, held in-person at the RAND Corporation’s Santa Monica headquarters and streamed to a live audience.

The theme of the event's first day was "U.S. and Japanese Views of the Future of Space Science and Exploration," and the keynote presentation was from Dr. David Kipping, assistant professor of astronomy and director of the Cool Worlds Lab, Columbia University. Other presenters included Dr. Christian Johnson, associate information scientist, RAND Corporation; Mr. Sho Nakanose, founder and CEO, GITAI; and Dr. Pete Worden, executive director of the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative and former director of the NASA Ames Research Center.

Day two's theme was "U.S. and Japanese Views of Space Science Cooperation and the Future Space Economy," and the keynote presentation was given by Mr. Ishii Yasuo, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) vice-president for international cooperation. Other presenters included Dr. Bonnie L. Triezenberg, senior engineer, RAND Corporation; Dr. Chad J.R. Ohlandt, senior engineer, RAND Corporation; Mr. Ron Lopez, president and managing director, Astroscale – U.S.; and Mr. Isaac Arthur, YouTube channel founder and host of Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur. Discussion on both days was moderated by Dr. Scott W. Harold.

The presentations made by RAND researchers during this workshop are informational presentations based on the subject matter knowledge of the presenter. They do not involve original research or new analysis of data, and have not been formally peer-reviewed. RAND's work does not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.

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