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US, Japan Sign Space Collaboration Agreement at NASA Headquarters
Jan 13, 2023
During an event hosted by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington Friday, representatives from the United States and Japan gathered to sign an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the two nations.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa signed the agreement on behalf of the United States and Japan, respectively.
“The future of space is collaborative,” said Blinken. “Through this agreement, our nations have strengthened our partnership in space and here on Earth. We will go farther and learn even more together.”
The signing is a highlight of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s visit to Washington, his first since taking office in 2021.
“I expect this agreement to vigorously promote Japan-U.S. space cooperation and expand areas of cooperation for the Japan-U.S. alliance, which is stronger than ever before,” said Kishida.
Among the other witnesses in attendance were U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Tomita Koji, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President (JAXA) Yamakawa Hiroshi, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council Chirag Parikh. NASA astronaut Anne McClain and JAXA astronaut Hoshide Akihiko also participated in the event.
“From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA’s most significant international partners, and this latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies’ broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research,” said Nelson.
Known as the “Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes,” this pact recognizes a mutual interest in peaceful exploration. It completes work from President Joe Biden’s May 2022 visit to Japan and the September 2022 visit to Tokyo of Vice President Kamala Harris, chair of the National Space Council.
Strengthening the space collaboration between the U.S. and Japan is a priority for both.
“This signing symbolizes not just the exploration of space, but also the partnership and the friendship between the United States and Japan,” said Emanuel. “This is a new beginning.”
The framework covers a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety and mission assurance, and much more.
“I hope that Japan-U.S. space cooperation will further deepen based on this agreement, as it will benefit the future of humanity,” said Hayashi.
NASA and the Government of Japan finalized a previous agreement in November 2022 confirming Japan’s contributions to Gateway as part of a commitment to long-term lunar exploration cooperation with NASA under the Artemis program. Japan also was one of the original signatories of the Artemis Accords.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/us-japan-sign-space-collaboration-agreement-at-nasa-headquarters
https://youtu.be/zePkPnS-NEo
Devin Nunes - Democrats start to throw Joe Biden under the bus
Jan 13 2023
Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes discusses the appointment of a special counsel to probe Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents on ‘Greg Kelly Reports,’ January 12, 2023.
https://truthsocial.com/@DevinNunes/posts/109684050118251230
https://rumble.com/v25a96s-nunes-democrats-start-to-throw-joe-biden-under-the-bus.html
Pacific storm parade to aggravate flooding concerns in California
Published Jan 13, 2023 10:04 AM PST | Updated Jan 13, 2023 10:08 AM PST
A parade of storms from the Pacific will continue to hammer the West Coast of the United States, including California, through next week, and each storm rolling in will have the potential to aggravate flooding and mudslide concerns and create life-threatening conditions, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
The stormy pattern will also continue to chip away at long-term drought conditions as it boosts snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which have been picking up astounding amounts since New Year's Eve. There are indications that storms may arrive less frequently later this month with the potential for a break altogether for a time.
"Each round of rain falling on top of saturated and unstable ground will enhance the risk of new landslides and debris flows," AccuWeather Meteorologist Reneé Duff said. "Even seemingly moderate wind gusts can be enough to knock over scores of trees and trigger new power outages."
Rounds of gusty winds from the storms into early next week will generally range between 40 and 60 mph at most locations but can be locally higher and double that over some of the ridges and peaks.
Following a break in the rain and mountain snow for much of the state on Thursday, the storm train was ramping up once again to end the week and will continue into early next week. In some areas, rain and snow from one storm may blend together with the next.
While the long-term mega-drought condition in California has drastically improved from the recent onslaught of storms, the ground cannot handle more rain without immediate runoff and the potential for the topsoil on hillsides to let loose.
"Trees can topple over with no notice," Duff said. "The same saturated ground has top-heavy trees bobbing in the wet soil."
The next big storm will affect California early this weekend.
"The timeframe for the heaviest rainfall around the San Francisco Bay area will be during the day Saturday," Duff said. "Farther south in Los Angeles, downpours will be heaviest later Saturday afternoon into the first half of Saturday night."
Despite the seemingly endless storms that have delivered inches of rain and yards of high country snow, the weather pattern will begin to change every so slightly in the coming days and more so late this month.
"The storms on track to impact California into early next week will not be associated with a true atmospheric river like the events from earlier this month," Duff said. The storms will tend to be brief in nature with short plumes of moisture from the Pacific.
Still, storms may result in 6 inches of rain in as many hours and 6 inches of snow in 1 hour – close to some of the output from recent storms. Even where less intense rain and mountain snow occur in the upcoming storms, major problems and disastrous conditions can unfold at the local level.
Through Saturday night alone, storms will deliver a general 2-4 inches of rain to San Francisco and 1-2 inches of rain to Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. From 4-8 inches of rain with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 9 inches is in store along west-facing portions of the Coast Ranges.
The storms coming in through early next week will bring lower snow levels in the mountains, compared to many recent storms. That will translate to a bit less runoff at intermediate elevations in the Sierra Nevada, but it also means potentially more trouble for some of the passes along Interstate 5 in Northern and Southern California.
Motorists are encouraged to check local advisories for not only their destination but also high elevation points along their routes before they begin their journey. Rounds of heavy snow have the potential to shut down some of the passes periodically and not only along I-80 at Donner Pass, California.
During next week, storms will begin to track from northwest to southeast along the Pacific coast. Storms that track like that can still bring locally heavy rain and intense mountain snow. Overall, the precipitation will tend to be more brief and sporadic in nature with increasingly drier episodes in between rounds.
By the end of the month, an area of high pressure may develop at most levels of the atmosphere over California and much of the Pacific coast, which can be strong enough to keep most moisture-packed storms away, AccuWeather Senior Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Lundberg explained.
Unlike in 2022, when storms vacated California during much of the winter, AccuWeather's long-range team of meteorologists expects the return of some storms later in February and March.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/pacific-storms-to-continue-slamming-west-coast-california/1468093