US and Japan to Cooperate on Return to the Moon
by Jeff Foust May 29, 2019 (space.com)
• At a May 27th joint press conference in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump announced their agreement for the two nations to cooperate in space exploration. “I am pleased to confirm that Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to dramatically expand our nations’ cooperation in human space exploration,” Trump said. “Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space. We’ll be going to the moon. We’ll be going to Mars very soon. It’s very exciting.”
• The agreement between the two leaders was not released, and neither Trump nor Abe would elaborate. A State Department fact sheet noted that the two “agreed on the importance of a sustained human presence on and around the moon.” “Building on its International Space Station (ISS) experience, Japanese astronauts will strive to join American astronauts on the moon and destinations beyond,” the fact sheet noted.
• Japan, a major partner on the ISS, had shown an interest in participating in aspects of NASA’s renewed push to return to the moon, including contributing modules to the Gateway facility NASA plans to develop in lunar orbit to support human lunar landings. The agreement could include Japanese astronauts going to the moon.
• NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted that he was “very excited” about the agreement announced by Trump and Abe. “Japan and [JAXA] are critical partners in our efforts to go forward to the Moon and on to Mars!”
• In a video released by NASA, Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japanese space agency said, “It’s a great pleasure to collaborate with NASA in that endeavor.”
• With the White House’s urging, NASA accelerated its plans to return humans to the lunar surface by 2024, versus the 2028 date in its previous plans. Major roles for international partners will mostly be deferred to the second phase, which will focus on establishing a sustainable human presence on and around the moon after the 2024 landing. Ken Bowersox, deputy associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA, said that if international partners can accelerate their contributions, “they’re welcome to participate in the early phases.”
• The Japanese company ‘ispace’ is developing commercial lunar landers as part of a team led by the American company, Draper, that won one of nine Commercial Lunar Payload Services agreements from NASA last November to transport research payloads to the lunar surface. Founder and chief executive of ispace Takeshi Hakamada stated, “We are thrilled to learn that the U.S. and Japan will deepen its strong relationship in space exploration through a focused effort on lunar exploration.”
WASHINGTON — The governments of the United States and Japan have agreed to further cooperation in space which could include flying Japanese astronauts to the moon.
At a joint press conference in Tokyo May 27 with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Donald Trump mentioned cooperation in space exploration as one outcome of their meetings during the president’s visit to the country.
“I am pleased to confirm that Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to dramatically expand our nations’ cooperation in human space exploration,” Trump said. “Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space. We’ll be going to the moon. We’ll be going to Mars very soon. It’s very exciting.”
Neither Trump nor Abe elaborated on the nature of that agreement, which was not released. A fact sheet released by the State Department May 27 noted that the two “agreed on the importance of a sustained human presence on and around the moon.”
“Building on its International Space Station (ISS) experience, Japanese astronauts will strive to join American astronauts on the moon and destinations beyond,” the State Department fact sheet noted.
A cooperative agreement of some kind between the United States and Japan was expected to be signed during Trump’s visit. Japan, a major partner on the ISS, had shown an interest in participating in aspects of NASA’s renewed push to return to the moon, including contributing modules to the Gateway facility NASA plans to develop in lunar orbit to support human lunar landings.
“It’s a great pleasure to collaborate with NASA in that endeavor,” Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japanese space agency JAXA, said in a video released by NASA May 28 about international cooperation on the development of the Gateway and its overall lunar plans.
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