The Artemis programme aims to achieve a historic milestone by sending US astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century by 2025 at the earliest, and a Japanese astronaut may be among the next to land on the Earth’s satellite, according to the sources.
The two countries are also discussing putting a second Japanese astronaut on the moon and expected to finalise a plan as soon as next month, the sources said.
Japan will try to destroy an asteroid set to collide with Earth. Will it work?
Japan will try to destroy an asteroid set to collide with Earth. Will it work?
Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that the United States intended to have an international astronaut accompany US astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2029, although she did not say from which country the envisaged individual might be selected.
Japan will not only participate in the construction of Gateway, a lunar-orbiting outpost planned under the Artemis programme but will also be responsible for transporting materials, as well as developing a lunar rover that can be driven without a spacesuit.
Besides returning humans to the moon and advancing lunar exploration, the ultimate goal of the Artemis programme is to explore Mars.
Last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or Nasa, successfully put the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on course to fly around the moon and return to Earth.
It is planning to send four astronauts from the United States and Canada on a lunar fly-by in November 2024 for its next step in lunar exploration, followed by a roughly weeklong stay on its surface aboard a SpaceX craft at the end of 2025 and a nearly annual trip to the moon from 2028.