Japan wants boots on the moon by the end of the decade
Japan has revised its space schedule today, which shows it wanting boots on the moon by the end of the decade.
The ambition, part of the US-led Artemis programme, will see the first ever non-American on the moon.
“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 said.
The country also looks to launch a Mars exploration probe in 2024, squaring up to both the US and China in studying the red planet.
China became the second country in the world to put a rover on Mars in May.
Both Japan and China are also seeking to generate solar electricity from space – as the need for sustainable energy grows ever more apparent on the ground.
The fresh schedule comes just weeks after Japanese billionaire Yusaka Maezawa returned to Earth after spending nearly a fortnight aboard the International Space Station.
Maezawa joined a string of billionaires, such as Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, to eye the final frontier as the subject of their next entrepreneurial venture.