US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida solidified their plans to send a Japanese astronaut to the Moon. Thus, it also confirmed the possibility of a Japanese astronaut walking on the Moon during future Artemis missions.
Biden and Kishida met in Tokyo last week to continue discussions on an Implementation Agreement that would potentially send a Japanese astronaut to the Gateway space station. The leaders also reiterated the commitment of both countries to share data on climate change. The conversation about Gateway staff comes as part of ongoing conversations between the US and Japan about NASA’s upcoming Moon missions.
The Gateway is an integral part of NASA’s effort to return to the Moon, a series of upcoming missions known as the Artemis program. Once built, the Gateway will serve as an outpost in lunar orbit, offering support for their visits to Moon-bound astronauts. In addition to serving as critical infrastructure for Artemis missions, the lunar space station will also serve as a staging point for future crewed missions to Mars. The first parts of the approaching lunar station are expected to launch in November 2024 at the earliest.
Biden said in a NASA press release, “In recent years, the alliance between Japan and the United States has become stronger, deeper and more capable as we work together to take on the new challenges (as important as the opportunities) of a rapidly changing world.” .
Japan and the United States are planning to send a Japanese astronaut to the surface of the Moon during an as yet undetermined Artemis mission, according to the White House fact sheet. NASA plans to land astronauts at the Moon’s south pole by 2025, and Artemis will include the first crewed Moon missions since Apollo 17 in 1972. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the broadcast: “Our shared passion to see Japanese and American astronauts walk together on the Moon reflects our nations’ shared values to explore space responsibly and transparently for the benefit of humanity here on Earth.”
Although the first parts of the Gateway are only a few years away, the coming together of the USA and Japan can be seen as an opportunity to get more countries involved. The Artemis missions will be a global effort, and returning to the Moon represents an exciting next step in space exploration and engineering.
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