Reports were made by the four large space agencies. ISAS has a rather wide programme covering exploration of the Moon, all terrestrial planets and asteroids.

Russia, in spite of it present severe financial situation, maintains a Mars programme that it plans to expand in future to other terrestrial planets. ESA’programme includes projects to study Mars, Mercury and small bodies (comets, asteroids, Titan). NASA has a large programme for Moon and Mars exploration, small bodies, outer planets and moons.

These presentations have put in evidence the worldwide effort to bring about a new level of knowledge in the exploration of the Solar System, and specifically Mars, the Moon, the small bodies, including the Near Earth Objects (NEOs).

Quite clearly such a vast enterprise would profit, on scientific and economic grounds, from international collaboration and coordination such as the one that the InterAgency Consultative Group (IACG) has exercised in the past, for the exploration of Comet Halley and for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics programme (ISTP). Composed of the four agencies NASA, ESA, ISAS and RSA/IKI the IACG has in its first phase, coordinated the missions of the 5 spacecraft directed towards Comet Halley and the ground based Halley Watch. In the second phase some 40 spacecraft are involved, providing data on the Solar Terrestrial environment that are analyzed through scientific campaigns set up and coordinated by the IACG. In both phases through the coordination of the IACG a significantly higher level of scientific return has been obtained then the mere sum of individual results from the different spacecraft.

The Exploration of the Solar System will constitute the Phase 3 of the IACG. The Committee has already caused the creation of the Mars Exploration Working Group and of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group to specifically address and coordinate Mars and Lunar activities. The IACG is further setting up a Working Group on Solar System Exploration to address and coordinate the several missions of the 4 agencies directed towards the exploration of the Small Bodies (e.g. Asteroids, Comets) including NEOs.