BRICS countries launch joint committee on space cooperation

The BRICS Joint Committee on Space Cooperation officially began its work on 25 May, opening a new chapter in cooperation between the members of the association in the remote sensing, satellite surveillance and data sharing.

The joint committee will guide cooperation on the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation to better serve socio-economic development of the BRICS countries, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said at the committee's first meeting held via videoconference.

He said the new committee would improve cooperation among the BRICS space agencies in areas such as environmental protection, disaster prevention and mitigation, and tackling climate change.

At the meeting, space agencies of the five member countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - reviewed and adopted documents on the committee's terms of reference, technical specifications for data exchange and procedures for joint observations.

In August 2021, the BRICS countries signed an agreement on the Cooperation in BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation.

It includes six existing satellites: Chinese Gaofen-6 and Ziyuan III 02, the Brazilian-Chinese CBERS-4, Russian Kanopus-V type, and Indian Resourcesat-2 and Resourcesat-2A, as reported by Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS.

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