US and Japan team up for historic Moon mission: rover and first Japanese astronaut onboard!

During Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s official visit to Washington, the United States and Japan declared several joint agreements, focusing on areas such as defense, technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, and space exploration.

A major highlight from this collaboration, announced by the White House, is the involvement of a Japanese astronaut in the upcoming Artemis missions, marking the first time a non-American will land on the Moon. President Biden emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating that Japanese astronauts will not only join American missions but one will make history with their lunar landing.

An agreement was inked on April 9th by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Masahito Moriyama, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. This agreement aims to promote sustainable human lunar exploration among other cooperative ventures.

As part of the collaboration, Japan has committed to designing and operating a pressurized rover to aid both crewed and uncrewed lunar explorations. This rover will allow astronauts to traverse and work more effectively across the Moon’s surface, particularly around the lunar south pole. Designed as a mobile laboratory, it can support two astronauts for up to 30 days, significantly enhancing the scope of scientific research possible on the Moon.

NASA plans to utilize this Japanese rover for Artemis VII and potentially future missions across its projected decade-long service life.

Further details discussed in the meeting between Biden and Kishida included the participation of a Japanese astronaut in an Artemis mission, with the shared aspiration of this astronaut being the first non-American to land on the Moon, pending the achievement of certain milestones.

The partnership will also extend to other space ventures. The U.S. has invited Japan to participate in NASA’s Dragonfly mission and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope project. Additionally, the collaboration will include JAXA’s upcoming SOLAR-C satellite, aimed at studying the Sun’s atmosphere through ultraviolet observations.

Under the terms of the Gateway Implementing Arrangement signed in 2022, Japan will contribute to the Gateway space station, part of the Artemis program. A Japanese astronaut will join the Gateway crew, and Japan will provide vital environmental control, life support systems, and cargo transport for the mission.