A Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which has been given some much needed updating, was lifted into launch position on Sunday in preparation for a launch to the International Space Station (ISS) this week.

JAXA announced today that it has found traces of gas in a capsule thought to contain asteroid dust that was brought back to Earth after a multi-billion-mile space journey.

WASHINGTON, April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a unique collaboration between national space agencies, the United States and Japan began combining elements of their satellite resources on Monday to increase a critical type of Earth observation data.

Japan’s first lunar probe made a successful crash landing on the surface of the moon, marking the end of its 19-month mission, JAXA announced on Thursday.

Based on a cooperative agreement, ESA has been delivering data from ALOS – Japan's four-ton Earth Observation satellite – to users across Europe and Africa since its launch three years ago. ESA’s efforts have been recognized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency with an award of appreciation.