WASHINGTON, May 23, 2022 / PRNewswire / – President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in Tokyo on Monday, where announcements progress in cooperation on human and robotic lunar missions. They reaffirmed their commitment to include a Japanese astronaut aboard the Gateway lunar outpost and their shared ambition to see a future Japanese astronaut land on the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
“In recent years, the alliance between Japan and the United States has become stronger, deeper and more capable as we work together to meet new challenges – as important as opportunities – in a rapidly changing world,” he said. Biden. “A great example of this: we saw the Japanese lunar rover … a symbol of how our space collaboration is evolving, looking at the moon and Mars. And I’m excited about the work we’re going to do together at the Gateway Station around the moon, and we’re looking forward to the first Japanese astronaut joining us on a mission to the lunar surface under the Artemis program. ”
The United States and Japan are working to formalize the inclusion of the Japanese astronaut in the Gateway through an implementation agreement later this year. “Our shared ambition to see Japanese and American astronauts walk the moon together reflects the shared values of our nations to explore space responsibly and transparently for the benefit of humanity here on Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “With this historic statement, President Biden is once again showing nations around the world that America will not go alone, but with unanimous partners. Under Artemis, we intend to invest and explore space with countries that promote science, economic opportunity and a shared set of shared values. ”
As part of ongoing cooperation on space and science missions, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed the ongoing cooperation between the United States and Japan in sharing scientific data on the Earth to improve scientific understanding of the Earth’s changing climate.
In addition, the President confirmed the intention of the United States to provide Japan with a sample of the asteroid Bennu in 2023, collected by NASA OSIRIS-REx mission. Japan has provided the United States with an asteroid sample collected from the Hayabusa2 Asteroid Sample Return Mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2021.
JAXA is also a critical partner of NASA to help the agency achieve its goals in science and human research, including on the International Space Station and through Artemis. In 2020, Japan became the original signatory to the Artemis Agreement andfinalize an agreementwith NASA to provide several Gateway I-HAB capabilities that will provide the heart of the Gateway’s life support capabilities and additional space where the crew will live, work and conduct research during Artemis missions. JAXA’s planned contributions include the I-HAB environmental control and life support system, batteries, thermal control and image components, which will be integrated into the ESA (European Space Agency) module before launch. These capabilities are critical to Gateway’s sustainable operations with and without crew.
To read more about NASA’s Artemis missions, visit:
SOURCE NASA
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