Japan will help NASA build space station near moon

While not funding the construction of the Gateway lunar station, Japan will provide equipment for the moon's orbiting base that will house both satellite and Mars exploration spacecraft housing, laboratories and docking stations. The news came from the Space Policy Committee of Japan, announcing that Japan has embarked on NASA's lunar exploration program Artemis.

Because of the costs, Japan will only contribute technology in the construction of the outpost in the form of life support systems and computers, among other equipment, in addition to relinquishing its state-of-the-art HTV-X, its cargo carrier, to ship supplies. to the Gateway from 2025.

The orbital station is due to begin construction by NASA in 2022. Japan has to offer, in addition to equipment, its experience with the Kibo space laboratory and the unmanned cargo spacecraft Kounotori. In addition to Japan, Artemis has already joined Canada and Australia; the European Space Agency (ESA) should do so soon.

What is the Artemis Program?

In the long term, the Artemis Program wants to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon from 2024, and to this end, NASA relies not only on the government but also on US space companies and international partners. The US space agency would lay the groundwork for private companies to settle on the moon and eventually send and support human life on Mars.

The project, at the initial cost of $ 22 billion. envisions the use of freighters from private companies, Orion, an interplanetary spacecraft built in a US-ESA partnership that will take astronauts beyond Earth's orbit and the Gateway lunar orbital station.

Japan will help NASA build near-moon space station via TecMundo