A Japanese astronaut will be on board the Gateway space station when it orbits the moon during NASA's Artemis missions, the Japanese government and the U.S. space agency agreed on Friday.
The agreement inked by Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Keiko Nagaoka and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is a major step toward the first moon landing by a Japanese astronaut, which is expected to happen by the end of the decade.
Nagaoka said Japan would also agree to a U.S. proposal to extend the operation of the International Space Station until 2030.
