Ayu Yoneda and Makoto Suwa, both newly certified as astronauts by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a recent interview that they see visiting the moon as an increasingly realistic prospect.
Under the Artemis international lunar exploration program, in which Japan participates, Yoneda, 29, and Suwa, 47, may become the first Japanese to land on the moon as early as the late 2020s.
In 2021, the two applied for JAXA's astronaut selection process, which was conducted for the first time in about 13 years. They were selected as candidates in February last year after several rounds of screening, including written tests and interviews, from over 4,000 applicants.
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