Japan and the NASA agreed yesterday to cooperate on the International Space Station and explore the surface of the moon, and to work together to eventually send humans and robots to the moon. NASA administrator Jim Jim Pridenstein and Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Koichi Hagwida signed a joint declaration of intent regarding joint exploration during their online meeting.
According to the announcement, the two sides intend to cooperate in relation to NASA's Artemis program, which are missions of manned missions to the moon.
"The signing of the Declaration of Intent reinforces a long history of successful cooperation between the United States and Japan in space," Pridenstein said. "We appreciate Japan's strong support for the Artemis program and look forward to expanding our strong partnership on the International Space Station, to reach the orbit around the moon and its surface and beyond," he added.
For his part, Haguida said, "It is a big step towards the first Japanese landing on the moon."