Kibo-ABC Member Countries' News: Kibo-ABC Workshop at the 23rd APRSAF, in the Philippines

The Kibo-ABC workshop held on November 14, 2016 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Manila, the Philippines. It was organized under the Space Environment Utilization Working Group (SEUWG), the 23rd session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-23). 54 participants from 22 organizations based in nine countries attended. Kibo-ABC initiative members are continuing the monthly WEB meeting, this workshop also provide oppotunities of the face-to-face meetings.

Reference: /en/kuoa/news/23rd_aprsaf_report.html

Program [PDF:47KB]

Various animated discussions for Kibo-ABC several types programs were held based on the initiative of each member country. One highlight activity from this year's Kibo-ABC was Asian Try Zero-G 2016 (ATZG 2016) which was performed in ISS/Kibo by astronaut Takuya Onishi in September 2016. Results of ATZG 2016 were reported by member countries, including the experiment proposer's invaluable experiences such as visiting the Mission Control Room for Kibo at the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center for real-time monitoring of their onboard experiments and social effects from the experiments.

These magnificent reports stimulated other member countries, along with discussions being planned for the next ATZG program. JAXA astronaut Soich Noguchi, who has experience performing previous onboard TZG experiments, also provided feedback for future ATZG programs.

Kibo-ABC members agreed to improve their missions as part of a national-level cooperation program and ensure that the missions maximize results through active participation by more people, because the value and significance of such missions will also have a great influence on Asian's young generation. These activities lead to the understanding and promortion in each member country for realizing their Kibo/ISS utilization.