Japan is preparing one of its astronauts to join the future Artemis mission to the Moon. If this happens, a Japanese astronaut will become the first non-US citizen to set foot on the Moon’s surface. The announcement of the agreement between the United States and Japan took place during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio to Washington at a meeting with President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Earlier, the US administration announced its intention to land international astronauts on the lunar surface by the end of the decade under the Artemis program. However, it is not yet known which mission the astronaut from Japan will take part in.
The Artemis II mission, scheduled for September 2025, will include Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen as commander. Hansen and three NASA astronauts will make a manned flight to the moon and back on the Orion capsule. The return to the Moon also includes a launch plan for three astronauts from the European Space Agency and one astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency.
Artemis III is scheduled for 2026. The mission will be the first step towards returning people to the Moon since the Apollo program, during which the first woman and the first African American will land. The Japanese astronaut is the only international representative who intends to set foot on the surface of the Moon during the next flights.
The United States is actively working on the Artemis mission, forming space alliances with other countries to compete with China in returning to our natural satellite and establishing a permanent presence on the lunar surface.
Earlier we told you why humanity wanted to return to the Moon.
According to spacepolicyonline.com
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