Japan plans to send astronauts to the moon this decade

This provides for a revised basic plan for space research, as the Japanese television broadcaster NHK reported after consultations with the responsible strategy center at the headquarters of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “In the second half of the 2020s, we want to make the moon landing of Japanese astronauts possible,” explained Kishida, thereby specifying the long-standing plans for exploring the moon. Japan also participates in the “Artemis” mission of the USA and wants to develop equipment for a lunar station and transport companion for the lunar surface.

The Asian high-tech nation had previously set itself the goal of using hydrogen as fuel in the future, which the Japanese want to extract from the ice deposits on the moon. A fuel factory is to be built at the south pole of the moon around 2035. According to earlier information from the Japanese space agency Jaxa, the aim is to supply a reusable spaceship. It will also be used to power a transport vehicle on the moon in the future.