In an agreement confirmed earlier today, Japan will tap one of its astronauts to join an upcoming NASA Artemis mission to the Moon. Should it happen, that would make the unnamed Japanese astronaut the first first non-American astronaut to land on the lunar surface.
The agreement between the U.S. and Japan was announced during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, according to Space Policy Online.
The U.S. administration had previously announced that NASA’s Artemis program to the Moon will land international astronauts on the lunar surface by the end of the decade. It’s not clear which Artemis mission will include the astronaut from Japan.
The Artemis 2 mission, scheduled to launch in September 2025, will include Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen as mission commander. Hansen, and three NASA astronauts, will fly to the Moon and back as the first crew to ride on board the Orion capsule. NASA’s return to the Moon also includes plans to launch three European Space Agency astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency astronaut to the Lunar Gateway (a future orbital outpost around the Moon).
The Japanese astronaut, however, is so far the only international astronaut that will get to walk on the lunar surface. The U.S. has been relying on the Artemis mission to build space alliances with other nations in an effort to compete with China’s plans to land its own astronauts on the Moon and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
Artemis 3, which is set to launch in September 2026, will be the first time astronauts walk on the dusty surface since the days of Apollo, and will include the first woman and first person of color to land on the Moon.