Japan Teams Up with the US for Manned Lunar Exploration... When Will Korea's 'Second Astronaut' Arrive? [Reading Science]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Japan is actively advancing manned space exploration together with the United States. It plans to send astronauts aboard the new international space station under development, the "Luna Gateway," and also participate its own astronauts in the lunar landing exploration plan attempted as part of the Artemis program.

On the 23rd (local time), according to NASA, U.S. President Joe Biden, who is visiting Japan, mentioned this bilateral agreement during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He cited the cooperation in space development with Japan as an example while noting that the U.S.-Japan alliance is becoming increasingly stronger. President Biden said, "Japan's lunar exploration rover (moon rover) symbolizes how U.S.-Japan space development cooperation is taking off," adding, "We have high expectations for cooperation on the Luna Gateway, and we look forward to the first Japanese astronaut joining us on the lunar surface exploration mission under the Artemis program."

Immediately following President Biden's remarks, NASA also expressed a strong willingness to cooperate. In an official statement, NASA explained, "The United States and Japan are working to formalize the participation of Japanese astronauts on the Luna Gateway through the Artemis Implementation Agreement by the end of this year." NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, "Both countries share the hope to see their astronauts working together on the Luna Gateway, which aligns with our shared values of responsibly and transparently developing space for the benefit of humanity," adding, "President Biden's historic announcement once again shows the world that the U.S. will not act alone but with like-minded partners." He further stated, "Under the Artemis program, we will explore and invest in space with countries that seek to promote scientific, economic opportunities, and shared values."

The U.S. and Japanese leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to continue scientific cooperation, including data sharing to combat climate change, during the summit. President Biden confirmed his intention to provide Japan with samples from the asteroid Bennu, which will be returned by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2023. Previously, Japan had provided the U.S. with samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft in 2021.

Japan was one of the first countries to sign the Artemis program agreement with the United States in 2020. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to develop and provide the habitation dome (I-HAB), a key facility of the Luna Gateway. Additionally, last year, JAXA, together with Toyota, unveiled a lunar rover designed to travel up to 10,000 km for lunar landing exploration.

Meanwhile, South Korea also pledged to strengthen space development cooperation with the United States during the Korea-U.S. summit on the 21st. However, the agreement only includes promoting joint research on space exploration and does not contain specific details such as cooperation in manned space development like Japan. South Korea's only manned space exploration was by Dr. So-yeon Yi, who visited the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle in 2008, marking the first and last time.