Japan is sending one of its own astronauts to the moon.
President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have recently confirmed their commitment to include a Japanese astronaut in NASA's Artemis Program and the future lunar Gateway Outpost, per NASA's announcement.
The inclusion of a Japanese astronaut is part of Japan's efforts to boost its presence in space as it seeks to maintain its lead over China in a potentially new space race.
Japanese Astronaut Inclusion Facts
Although the identity of the Japanese astronaut was not shared by both world leaders, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the Japanese astronaut's inclusion in the Artemis missions and the future lunar Gateway Outpost is a reflection of the two nations' "shared values to explore space responsibly and transparently" for humanity's benefit on Earth.
He also added that under the Artemis missions, NASA intends to invest in and explore the cosmos with countries that promote science, economic opportunity, and a common set of shared values.
"With this historic announcement, President Biden is once again showing nations throughout the world that America will not go alone but with like-minded partners," Nelson said.
Japan aims to become the second nation to successfully land an astronaut on the moon, but it has yet to have a human flight program despite its role in the creation of launch vehicles and space probes. As such, it has previously depended on the US and Russia to transport its astronauts into space.
In fact, the International Space Station (ISS) hosted more people from Japan than from the US or Russia.
Should both countries go ahead with their commitment, Japan would be able to further expand its range and reach of exploration following prominent missions of the past few years, per Space.com. This commitment would also fulfill Kishida's inauguration promises in October to put a Japanese astronaut on the moon, including revising Japan's space policy to include a push to create a human flight program for a crewed landing on the moon.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan's space agency, is already looking for applicants for its astronaut corps, with it opening its first recruitment drive in 13 years in 2021. This opening attracted 4,127 applicants for the opportunity to go into space, per the Japan Times.
JAXA is also a partner to NASA in achieving the latter's goals in science and human exploration, including on the ISS and the Artemis missions.
US and Japan's Other Space Agreements
In addition to the inclusion of the Japanese astronaut in the Artemis missions, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida have reaffirmed their countries' continued cooperation on Earth science data sharing to improve specific understanding of Earth's changing climate.
President Biden also confirmed that the US intends to provide Japan with a sample from the asteroid Bennu, which was collected from NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission, in 2023, in return for Japan providing the US with an asteroid sample collected by JAXA's Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission in 2021.
The asteroid sample collected by Hayabusa2 is from the asteroid Ryugu, which the spacecraft rendezvoused in 2018, per a separate Space.com article.
Related Article : Japan Looks To Boost Space Program — But Needs US Help To Do So
