Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, boarded Atlantis in 2010 for a two-week flight. Astronaut Naoko Yamazaki/Facebook |
"Not only is space a frontier that gives people hopes
and dreams but it also provides a crucial foundation to our economic society
with respect to our economic security," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told
a meeting to finalise the plan.
According to the draft schedule of the plan, Japan aims to
put the first non-American on the moon as part of the Artemis programme, a
US-led initiative that aims to return astronauts to the moon.
The plan also spells out Japan's aspirations to launch a
probe to explore Mars in 2024, as well as to find ways to generate solar
electricity in space.
Neighbouring China also aims to become a major spacefaring
power by 2030, and it too plans to put astronauts on the moon, raising the
prospect of an Asian space race.
In May, China became the second country to put a rover on
Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
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Japan's announcement of its space exploration targets comes
a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to earth after
spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station, becoming the first
space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade. © Reuters