Photo/Illutration Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa speaks at a news conference on Jan. 12. (Ryo Sasaki)

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa has been disciplined for leading a research group that falsified data in an experiment that studied stress among subjects staying in a closed environment for a prolonged period.

At a Jan. 12 news conference, Furukawa revealed that he received a warning from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency two days earlier.

He apologized for the falsification of data in the research, even though he was not directly involved in the fabrication.

Asked if his mission to the International Space Station later this year was still planned, Furukawa, 58, said, “I want to restore the public’s trust by going on that mission while taking advantage of the lessons I have learned” from the latest incident.

According to JAXA officials, the research, which was conducted between 2016 and 2017, examined the physiological and psychological changes individuals undergo due to stress from an extended stay in a closed environment, such as the ISS.

A mock-up closed environment module in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, was the site of the experiment that involved 40 individuals, who stayed in the capsule for 13 nights in groups of eight.

Blood tests and psychological evaluations were supposed to have been carried out on the subjects to determine the level of stress they underwent.

But nonexistent interview evaluation information was created and other data was also rewritten.

When JAXA announced its initial findings in November, officials described the research as using “inappropriate methods.”

Furukawa had overall responsibility for managing the research team. But he admitted that the research plan was not well thought out, especially given the small number of members in the team.

“I felt that my job at the time was to somehow produce research results and to adhere to the research schedule,” Furukawa said at the news conference.

During the research, blood samples became mixed up, but it took Furukawa about a month to report the matter to the ethics screening panel.

He explained the delay was caused by his placing priority on trying to find out what occurred.

JAXA officials were coordinating with the relevant government agencies about returning a total of 190 million yen ($1.5 million) in grants received from the science ministry for the project.

Some of the data from the project was used in publishing an article in a scientific journal in 2018. The article was published by a research team at the University of Tsukuba.

JAXA officials informed Tsukuba officials in June 2022 that there was a strong possibility of errors in compiling the data and that they were looking further into the matter.

Shinichiro Sasahara, an associate professor of medicine who led the Tsukuba team, said he was still waiting for a response from JAXA before deciding whether to retract the article or simply revising those parts related to the erroneous data.

(This article was written by Shoko Tamaki, Ryo Sasaki and Rintaro Sakurai.)

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