Japan to ink deal with NASA on cooperation for Moon exploration plan

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's science minister Masahito Moriyama said Tuesday he will travel to the United States to sign a deal later this week with NASA affirming Tokyo's cooperation on a U.S.-led lunar exploration program.

The Artemis program aims to send U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface in 2026 for the first time in over half a century, and Moriyama and Bill Nelson, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, are expected to agree on a deal that also includes two Japanese astronauts traveling to the Moon.

Their meeting comes as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden are scheduled to hold a summit in Washington on Wednesday.

Additionally, Japan plans to provide a lunar rover for traveling the Moon's surface that astronauts can drive without wearing a spacesuit and in which they can sleep. Toyota Motor Corp. is spearheading its development.

Japan will also transport supplies to Gateway, a lunar-orbiting outpost planned under the program.

Besides returning humans to the Moon and advancing lunar exploration, the ultimate goal of the Artemis program is to explore Mars.