Italia-Japan Observatory

The interview

Space, Valente: 'With Japan we build an ecosystem that goes beyond missions'

The President of the Italian Space Agency, appointed head of Copuos for the next two years, talks about the agreements made between Italian and Japanese companies

by Lorenzo Pace

2 June 2026

TEODORO VALENTE AGENZIA AEROSPAZIALE ITALIANA IMAGOECONOMICA

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

To speak only of space missions would be reductive. If anything, the bilateral between Italia and Japan, which took place between 28 and 29 May, served to nurture an 'ecosystem' of collaborations through new scientific and industrial agreements. This was claimed by those who played a central role during the Tokyo consultations, i.e. the Italian Space Agency (Asi), which met directly with the Japanese equivalent Jaxa. This ecosystem, for Agency President Teodoro Valente, must include everything around it - from institutions to companies - so as to become a lever for overall growth. An opportunity also helped by the solid relationship between the two countries, which is witnessed by Japan's support for Valente's chairmanship of the UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Copuos) for the next two years. The inauguration is expected in the coming days.

President, what are the main results that emerged from the Tokyo bilateral?

Cooperation between Asi and Jaxa has intensified on several fronts, in line with the 2024-2027 action plan. The objectives do not only concern new space missions: we want to create an ecosystem of collaboration between the 'space worlds', including institutions, companies and investment centres that are able to generate innovation, skilled employment and new market opportunities. These consultations have prepared the ground for the next visit to Italia by the Japanese Prime Minister, scheduled for around mid-June: we arrive with the shared vision of considering space not only as scientific research and exploration, but also as a strategic lever for innovation, industrial competitiveness and economic growth.

So, it also refers to downstream. In this sense, how is the cooperation with Japan going?

At the end of March, we renewed an agreement that strengthens a decade-long collaboration on Earth observation, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the space economy and also fundamental for security. The agreement extends the 2016 agreement to integrate the data of the Italian Cosmo-SkyMed constellation with those of the Japanese Alos radar satellites. Thanks to the new agreement, cooperation is also extended to the Alos-4 satellite, which was recently put into orbit and is now operational.

What does it entail?

The combination of data acquired in different radar bands makes it possible to observe the territory with greater precision and continuity, improving the monitoring of natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires or floods. In a context characterised by the increasing vulnerability of critical infrastructures and the effects of climate change, the availability of timely and accurate information is a very important element to support the decisions of governments and companies, such as civil protection authorities. But there are other agreements that go in this direction.

For example?

The company Egeos has signed an agreement with the Japanese Synspective to develop new geospatial intelligence solutions by integrating data from the Cosmo-SkyMed and StriX constellations. This is a concrete example of how institutional cooperation can facilitate new parties to industrial choices and also new market opportunities for companies in two countries based on data from Earth observation satellites.

You also spoke of progress in scientific cooperation.

Scientific cooperation is one of the central axes. The first case I would mention is LiteBirdI, a mission led by Jaxa that will study cosmic radiation to deepen our knowledge of the origins of the universe. Italia will participate with a major scientific and technological contribution through Asi, Infn, Inaf and several universities, providing one of the mission's main instruments. Another mission planned for 2028 is called Solar-C, and is dedicated to the study of the sun and solar physics. Italia, through Asi and its public research bodies, is providing the main instrument, which is an extreme ultraviolet spectrometer with very high resolution. Understanding solar phenomena better means observing the direct implications of solar storms, which can affect satellites or telecommunications and thus have a direct impact on the economy and infrastructure on which our societies depend. Finally, I would mention the Calet mission, which measures cosmic radiation on the International Space Station, Bepi Colombo, which is led by the European Space Agency and aims to explore Mercury, and the planetary defence missions Hera and Ramses.

And on lunar exploration?

The Artemis programme is central at this time. Both Italia and Japan are among the first countries to have joined the Artemis agreements and are now leading participants. Italia and Japan are called upon to realise two fundamental elements of the future lunar architecture. Asi is developing bilaterally with NASA the first pressurised housing module, the Multipurpose Habitation Module, intended for the lunar surface and designed to house astronauts when they are not mobile. A great opportunity, because it will be produced in Turin but will involve the entire industrial line. Jaxa, on the other hand, is responsible bilaterally with NASA for the development of a pressurised rover for exploration.

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