The government decided Friday the nation will participate in the U.S. Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.
Japan will initially cooperate mainly in the construction of a spaceship that will orbit the moon and be used as a base for space missions. In the future, Japanese astronauts are expected to use the base and could one day stand on and explore the moon.
Friday's decision was made by the government's Strategic Headquarters for National Space Policy, which is headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The United States plans to build a manned outpost that would orbit the moon as a successor to the currently used International Space Station. The plan first called for the base to be completed in 2028. However, in March the United States announced a plan to send U.S. astronauts to the moon and explore it in 2024, without waiting for the base's construction to be finished.
Speaking at a meeting of the strategic headquarters on Friday, Abe said, "Japan is set to turn a new page in lunar exploration and space development. We have decided to participate by using our nation's strengths in this new U.S. program."
The government plans to contribute to the program by providing technologies such as air-conditioning equipment that will sustain the astronauts' living environment on the base, and shipping cargo via the HTV-X unmanned transfer vehicle that is currently under development.
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