October 23. According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ogiuda Koichi stated on the 23rd that the country intends to recruit moon landing astronauts to participate in the US-led “Artemis” Lunar exploration plan. However, whether the Japanese astronauts can finally achieve the moon landing still needs the United States to decide.
According to reports, the so-called “Artemis” project is led by the United States. It plans to send astronauts to the moon’s surface in 2024 and launch a series of investigations and studies on the moon. However, the plan has not yet decided which country to send astronauts to perform the mission to the moon.
In response, Ogiuda Koichi said, “The participation of Japanese astronauts (the moon landing) is an extremely important event. In order to create opportunities, the government will actively support it.”
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, there are currently 7 astronauts in Japan, but the average age is as high as 51 years. As Japan estimates, the “Artemis” plan will have the turn of Japanese astronauts after 2025 at the earliest. By then, nearly half of the existing astronauts will reach retirement age.
To this end, the Japanese government plans to recruit a new generation of astronauts. The recruitment agency is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. After determining the recruitment conditions, it is expected to officially launch this program in the fall of 2021.
