Japan getting geared up to send astronauts on to the moon by the second part of 2020s – A big leap to the future!

On Tuesday, Japan altered its space research goals, seeking to put a Japanese person on the moon by the second part of the 2020s.

‘Not only is space a frontier that inspires people’s hopes and desires, but it also serves as a critical basis for our economic society in terms of economic stability,’ Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a meeting to finalise the plan.

According to the plan’s schedule, Japan plans to send the first non-American to the moon as part of the Artemis mission, a US-led effort to send men to the moon.

The plan also outlines Japan’s ambitions to send a probe to Mars in 2024 and to develop ways to generate solar electricity from space.

Neigbouring China also wants to be a significant space power by 2030, and it aspires to send astronauts to the moon, creating the possibility of an Asian participation in the space race.

China became the second country to deploy a rover on Mars in May, two years after the first spacecraft landed on the moon’s far side.

Japan’s space exploration goals were announced just a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to Earth after spending 12 days onboard the International Space Station, making him the first space tourist to visit the ISS in almost a decade.