Artemis III Mission: NASA Brings The First Japanese Astronaut To Step On The Moon

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio (photo: x @potus)

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden announced the extraordinary partnership between the United States and Japan in NASA's Artemis program on Wednesday, April 10, when Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited America. Japan will be the first non-US country to land humans on the lunar surface.

In the Artemis III mission scheduled for 2026, a pair of Japanese astronauts will join NASA. One of them will be the first from outside the United States to set foot on the moon.

Kishida welcomed this announcement as a 'big achievement,' stating that Japan would provide a very important rover to build lunar habitat.

Japan, which in January became the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon on the Smart Lander for Investigation Moon (SLIM) mission, will send two astronauts along with NASA's Artemis III mission. However, only one will set foot on the moon.

"The Japanese astronaut couple will join future American missions, and one of them will be the first non-American citizens to land on the moon," Biden said at a news conference with Kishida.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return to sending humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, as well as building a sustainable presence on the moon before a potential mission to Mars.

Japan will provide a presurable rover, so astronauts can explore areas around the South Pole of the moon over longer periods.

The partnership between America and Japan in the space sector has existed for years, particularly in operational collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS).

Thus, this move is expected to pave the way for more advanced space exploration and support the common goal of lunar exploration by Japanese and American astronauts together.