Astronaut Chiaki Mukai will head research in space medicine and biology at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. </PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20071013a9a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='213'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Astronaut Chiaki Mukai speaks at a news conference Thursday at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Tokyo. </B> KYODO PHOTO </FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>'I would like to play a part in building the foundation for Japan's manned space activity,' Mukai said at a news conference Thursday. She became manager of JAXA's Space Biomedical Research Office in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, effective Oct. 1.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I will draw up a long-term –

plan for (astronauts) to stay on the moon and Mars," she said.

At the office, which was launched in April, Mukai will head research into medical support for astronauts and the influence of the space environment on life forms, according to JAXA.

She plans to lead a study into raising killifish at the Japanese experimental module Kibo to be launched at the International Space Station and see how life in space affect fish offspring.

Mukai became Japan's first female astronaut when she flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1994 as a payload specialist.