According to foreign media reports on November 27, the Japanese government decided to participate in the "deep space exploration" program led by the United States, hoping to ensure that Japan's space technology can continue to be promoted in order to occupy a place in the space age. Japanese media revealed that the "deep space exploration" of the United States includes a visit to the moon in the second half of 2020s, and Japan also has the intention to accelerate the "dream of running the moon" by participating in the US plan.
Infographic: Moon
According to the official news of Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" on the 26th, the Japanese authorities will soon announce the space work guidelines drafted by the expert group and finalize the plan to participate in the US visit to the moon. In mid-December, the "Medium-term Plan for Space Development", which will be announced, will indicate two major goals - "participation in the construction of a manned lunar stronghold" and "lunar exploration activities".
Space technology cooperation between Japan and the United States is based on the International Space Station, and the countries involved in the program also include Russia, Canada, Spain, as well as Europe. The International Space Station is due to expire in 2024, and the United States is conceiving a development plan called the "Deep Space Exploration Portal" to build a similar small space station in lunar orbit for future relay stations to land on Mars. The role of this relay station is to allow astronauts to stay and facilitate their landing on the moon.
After US President Trump took office, he promoted the concept of "returning to the moon" and reached a cooperation agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the talks on the 6th of this month. Former Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki took the lead in planning and promoting the japan-US aerospace cooperation, he said: "Japan must not be left behind in the development of aerospace, only by participating in the US plan, can it grasp the right to speak in the aerospace industry." ”
The Yomiuri Shimbun also pointed out that Japan's decision to participate is to ensure that it can enjoy the leading role in the space cause. Moreover, joining the United States in the construction of the lunar orbit will allow Japan to realize the "dream of landing on the moon" faster. At the same time, the Japanese side also has a plan to further promote military cooperation with the United States through the common development of space technology.
The report pointed out that the Japanese space development agency has long been privately discussing cooperation with the United States, and Japan can strengthen the cultivation of space talents through cooperation. Japan joined the International Space Station in 1998 and spends 40 billion yen a year on the International Space Station. Due to financial constraints, Japan's expenditure on space research has not made a big breakthrough, and the budget for fiscal 2017 is 150 billion yen, which is less than one-tenth of that of the United States. It is a dream for Japan to develop a separate moon landing plan, but with the U.S. plan, Japan's space agency is ambitious and hopes to achieve its wish by 2030.