Photo/Illutration A full moon shines in the autumn sky. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan’s space program will take a giant leap forward as the country is set to land its first astronaut on the moon as early as 2028 in a U.S.-led mission.

At a meeting in Washington on April 10, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that Japanese astronauts will be sent to the moon under the Artemis program spearheaded by NASA.

According to a Japan-U.S. agreement, Japan will send its astronauts twice to the moon, becoming the first country to do so after the United States.

Two U.S. astronauts are expected to land on the moon in 2026 in Artemis III, the first U.S. moon-landing mission since the end of the Apollo program more than half a century ago.

The Japanese government expects that a Japanese astronaut will set foot on the moon and explore the lunar surface in 2028 in Artemis IV, officials said.

Under the Apollo program, 12 astronauts, all U.S. citizens and white males, landed on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

NASA agreed to provide two landing slots to Japan in exchange for its role in developing and providing a rover that astronauts will drive and reside in on the lunar surface.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is developing the vehicle, nicknamed the Lunar Cruiser, with Toyota Motor Corp. and other partners.

The lunar terrain vehicle, which is estimated to cost several hundred billion yen, is expected to be transported to the moon in 2031.

Officials hope that a second Japanese astronaut will arrive on the moon in 2032 in Artemis VII and become the first to drive the manned pressurized rover.

The Japan-U.S. agreement said a third Japanese astronaut or even more may be sent to the moon depending on the country’s additional contribution to the Artemis program.

Japan will also be responsible for shipping supplies to the Gateway, a space station that will orbit the moon, and providing air supply equipment for its living quarters. 

In addition to those who will land on the moon, a Japanese astronaut will be assigned aboard the Gateway.

Seven individuals are in line for Japan’s first manned lunar missions. JAXA said it has not chosen astronauts for the tasks or decided selection methods.

Last year, the space agency selected Makoto Suwa, 47, and Ayu Yoneda, 29, as candidate astronauts, considering the possibility of joining the Artemis program.

They are expected to be officially certified as astronauts as early as November.

Rigorous training will be required if they are to participate in the Artemis missions because NASA is requesting experienced personnel, according to a JAXA source.

Among the five current JAXA astronauts, veterans Akihiko Hoshide, 55, and Satoshi Furukawa, 60, have flown to space three and two times, respectively.

Kimiya Yui, 54, Takuya Onishi, 48, and Norishige Kanai, 47, have each made an extended stay in the International Space Station.

Thirty-six countries are participating in the Artemis program, which eventually aims to send the first humans to Mars during the 2030s.

In the inaugural Artemis I mission, the Orion spacecraft made an unmanned orbit of the moon in 2022.

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