Japan Brings Slow & Steady Trajectory to Global Moon “Race”

Japan is one of the most advanced spacefaring nations on Earth and is poised to continue playing a leading role in 21st century space exploration. The US, China, Russia, and India are leading a renewed geopolitical surge outward to the Moon and beyond and Japan is quietly but firmly in the mix.

With decades of experience and a highly mature space economy to lean on, Japan is a major space power jockeying for influence and opportunity in this new space age.

History of Japanese Space Program

The roots of the Japanese space program go back to the 1950’s when “Dr. Rocket” Hideo Itokawa was pioneering rocket research at the University of Tokyo. By the mid-1950s, the domestically produced Kappa rocket reached an altitude of 25 miles, enabling Japan to participate in the 1958 International Geophysical Year that can be considered an official start of the Space Age.

However, progress was not nearly as rapid as in the US or USSR. The 1960s saw incremental progress on more powerful rockets, but also saw the rise of multiple separate organizations responsible for various aspects of space exploration in Japan.

The Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) were both developing their own rockets, with the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) eventually formed to focus on aerospace and aircraft technology while the Space Development Promotion Headquarters focused on space technology development.

This complicated and cumbersome fragmentation of the Japanese space program would persist for decades, but did not totally prevent steady (slow) progress on more advanced space capabilities.

On February 11, 1970, Japan’s first satellite, the Ohsumi satellite was launched from the Kagoshima launch site in Kagoshima Prefecture. The 53 pound probe was developed by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science out of the University of Tokyo as an engineering demonstration. It completed at least one full orbit of the Earth while functional. It orbited silently for 33 years until it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on August 2nd, 2003 over the Libyan desert.

A photograph of Ohsumi, Japan’s first satellite. Source: JAXA

It’s important to note this mission was launched in co-operation with NASA, which provided tracking services for the mission and relayed the data back to Japanese scientists and also assisted in the development of high-efficiency batteries that would be able to survive the mission.

In 1969 NASDA established the Tanegashima Space Center, which would eventually become the country’s primary launch site. Japan continued to develop more advanced rockets throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and successfully participated in the 1986 ‘Halley’s Armada’ with the Sakigate and Suisei probes that visited Halley’s Comet. They were Japan’s first interplanetary spacecraft, with Sakigate serving as a technology demonstrator and solar observer that laid the groundwork for Suisei’s mission to Halley’s Comet a few months later.

Cooperation in space with the United States continued, with the first of the Himawari series of meteorological satellites actually launching from Cape Canaveral in 1977.

The 1990s saw the first Japanese nationals finally visit the final frontier. Toyohiro Akiyama was a civilian and prominent television reporter for the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) who was selected for one of the first commercial space flights in history. The flight was sponsored by his employer, TBS, who wanted to celebrate their 40th anniversary and boost ratings by sending one of their employees to space. He visited the Mir space station in December 1990 aboard a Soyuz rocket and was the first journalist to visit space and conduct live reporting.

Mamoru Mohri was intended to be the first Japanese person in space on a Space Shuttle flight with NASA, but due to delays he was surpassed by Toyohiro Akiyama. Mohri was a trained scientist in the fields of materials and vacuum sciences, and spent time in the 1970s and 1980s working on nuclear fusion at the University of Hokkaido. He was selected by NASDA to become an official astronaut, training as a payload specialist. His first mission came in 1992 when he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-47) as part of Spacelab-J, with a second flight aboard Endeavour in 2000 as part of STS-99.

Toyohiro Akiyama (L) and Mamoru Mohri (R) were the first Japanese nationals to visit outer space. Image source: WIkipedia.

In total 14 Japanese nationals have visited outer space, with 10 professional astronauts and 2 private space tourists joining the ranks over the years. This list includes Chiaki Mukai, a cardiac surgeon who became the first female Japanese astronaut in 1994 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The list also includes Kochi Wakata, who spent more than 500 hours in space over 5 different missions from 1996 to 2023, including Commander of Expedition 39 in 2014.

Chiaki Mukai (L) was the first female Japanese astronaut, while Koichi Wakata (R) was the first Japanese Commander of the International Space Station. Image source: Wikipedia.

During this time, there was also a move to develop larger domestic rockets, and although none of these were capable of launching astronauts, they were aimed at launching interplanetary missions. The deep partnership with the United States continued, with the H-I rocket consisting of an American-licensed first stage and an all-Japanese upper stage. Its successor H-II rocket was the first domestically produced two stage liquid rocket and indicated a significant maturation of the Japanese domestic launch industry.

Yet this era was not without struggles. There were numerous launch failures as newer launch systems were tested, and there were more high profile failures as well. The Nozomi probe was constructed by ISAS and  launched in 1998 and was intended to be Japan’s first mission to Mars. A stuck valve created fuel shortages after an Earth-flyby, and while the craft did eventually reach Mars, electrical problems doomed the mission entirely before any Mars-related science could be conducted.

After decades of the bureaucratic maze and increasing failures, it was time for a change in the Japanese space program. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was formed in 2003 with the combination of these three organizations, and has been the key driver of the Japanese space program ever since. 

ISS and Interplanetary Ambitions

Since its creation, JAXA has focused on a number of major initiatives, from building more advanced launch systems to taking a major role in the International Space Station (ISS). All of this has laid the groundwork for a serious Japanese push to join the 21st century rush to the Moon.

Japan was a founding member of the ISS project, joining the original Project Freedom in 1985 with the announcement of the proposed Kibo module. Originally known as the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), Kibo is the single largest module on the station and is a key hub for science.

Kibo “consists of two experiment facilities, the Pressurized Module (PM) and the Exposed Facility (EF)...Scientific experiments using the microgravity environment and cosmic radiation are being carried out on the experiment racks in the PM. The EF is directly exposed to space, and it is a unique facility among ISS laboratories as it enables long-term experiments in open space as well as Earth and astronomical observations,” (JAXA).

An image of Japan’s KIBO Module, a powerful and unique addition to the International Space Station. Source: JAXA

JAXA oversaw the development of increasingly powerful and reliable rockets that lofted supply vehicles for the ISS as well as various satellite missions. The H-IIA and H-IIB became mainstays of the JAXA’s launch program in the 2000s and signified a new more robust era for Japanese rocketry. The H-IIB was used to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or Kounatori in Japanese meaning “oriental stork”), an automated cargo craft that is used to resupply the Kibo module.

Japan has also followed up the early missions to Halley’s Comet with other interplanetary voyages, with mostly positive results. Hayabusa was a highly successful sample return mission launched in 2003 to the asteroid Itokawa, marking humanity’s first asteroid sample retrieval.

The Ataksuki mission was launched in 2010 to Venus, but missed its initial orbital insertion and was forced to spend five years orbiting the Sun before finally arriving at Venus in 2015. The mission suffered both engine and electronic failures, but did spend 6 years conducting detailed atmospheric studies of Venus. Ataksuki marked Japan’s first (mostly) successful planetary mission and revealed JAXA to be inventive and resilient in the face of setbacks.

The IKAROS mission launched alongside Ataksuki and was the first successful demonstration of solar sail technology in space. Hayabusa 2 was launched in 2014 and successfully returned samples from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in 2020. The BepiColombo mission was a joint venture with the European Space Agency that launched in 2018 to the planet Mercury. JAXA developed the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter for the mission, which will use a suite of instruments to study Mercury’s magnetosphere and magnetic field when the mission arrives in 2025.

Not all has been smooth sailing, however. JAXA recently announced a delay to the MMX mission to return samples from the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. This comes on the heels of the failure of the inaugural flight of the H3 rocket in March, setting off a chain of launch delays that includes MMX.

Japan has clearly developed an advanced space program since establishing JAXA and eliminating a cumbersome agency structure. There have certainly been failures along the way, but the Japanese space sector has demonstrated resilience and perseverance. Significant contributions to the ISS and interplanetary successes have laid the groundwork for a surge of interest in another destination:

The Moon.

Japan Aims Big, Moon Squarely In Sights

JAXA has a history of successful Moon missions that have set the stage for even more ambitious lunar goals in the 2030s. Japanese lunar exploration began in 1990 with the launch of Hiten, a small lunar orbiter that tried (and failed) to release a smaller orbiter and was largely a technology demonstration mission.

Kayuga (also known as SELENE)  followed in 2007 and was far more advanced than Hiten, carrying two small orbital probes and 13 scientific instruments that spent almost two years studying the Moon. The mission provided an updated topographical map of the lunar surface, a gravity map of the far side of the Moon, and imagery of the interior of Shackleton crater on the lunar South Pole.

Breakdown of Japan’s 2007 Kayuga (SELENE) lunar mission. Source: JAXA

The SLIM mission launched in September 2023 and, if successful, will be Japan’s first successful soft landing on the lunar surface. The mission will attempt to demonstrate precision landing technology and then release two small rovers when it lands in January 2024.

All of this progress laid the groundwork for rising Japanese ambitions in space, and there are now additional resources behind this new strategy.

In June of 2023 Prime Minister Kishida led the 28th meeting of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development where he announced a new Basic Plan on Space Policy. The plan brings a holistic ten-year approach to Japanese space policy, focusing on areas as diverse as climate monitoring, national defense, education, and economic development.

The plan also demonstrates a clear and firm commitment to the Artemis lunar program, declaring that Japan is “taking a whole-government approach on the US-led Artemis Program to maintain autonomy in participating in the program, while considering it from the perspectives of other fields, such as economic activities, diplomacy and national security.” (Abstract pg 7).

Japan also released a Space Security Initiative in August 2023, highlighting a growing national security dimension to their space program. The report highlighted growing risks from threats such as anti-satellite tests and a need to build up Japan’s own national security space assets.

The Japanese government is following up on their rhetoric and is putting legitimate financial heft behind this new vision for space exploration.

On November 20th, 2023 the Japanese Cabinet unveiled a $1 trillion yen ($6.7 billion US) fund for JAXA to stimulate the private sector and advance the Japanese position in space. The fund will aim to support and commercialize new technologies and provide JAXA more resources to support private sector and academic partners.

Sanae Takaichi, Minister for Space Development, was quoted in the Japan Times saying “We believe it is a necessary fund to speed up our country’s space development so we don’t lag behind the increasingly intensifying international competition (in space).”

The Japanese private sector is taking notice and major brands are investing in space. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been a major rocket producer in Japan for years and Toyota unveiled a space mobility prototype for their Lunar Cruiser at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show for automakers.

Japan is also putting meat on the bone of their avowed international collaborative mindset. In 2019 they agreed to a joint lunar mission with India called LUPEX, with Japan contributing the launcher and a rover and India contributing the landing vehicle.

JAXA scientist Fujioka Natsu directly tied the program to crewed missions, explaining that “the project will investigate the quantity and quality of water on the Moon. We hope to use this data as a basis for considering sustainable human activities on the Moon in the future,” (JAXA). The mission is slated to travel to the lunar South Pole in 2025 but may be delayed by the H3 launch failure.

Deepening cooperation with NASA through the lens of the Artemis program is also in the works in the years ahead. JAXA and NASA have formalized a partnership for the planned Gateway lunar space station program. This includes a commitment for a JAXA astronaut to spend time aboard the station once operational, the first time a Japanese national will venture out beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). JAXA selected two new astronaut candidates earlier in 2023 to support the Artemis missions, the first new class since 2009. 

A rendering of the Lunar Gateway space station that Japan has signed on to construct along with NASA and the European Space Agency. Source: JAXA

2023 also saw an announcement of a high-level strategic partnership in space between the US and Japan, reinforcing and accelerating existing co-operation on Artemis and beyond. The agreement specifically mentions a plan to tackle space debris, a rising risk to all space programs in LEO and a potentially lucrative future industry for private companies. 

Japan is aiming big and they are striving for the Moon as a central player in the broad international Artemis coalition. They are putting money behind this ambitious vision and have a number of history making spacecraft aimed squarely at the lunar surface.

Steady Growth Sets Stage

Japan has charted a steady (if sometimes slow) and methodical path towards exploring space. They have overcome mission failures and self-imposed bureaucratic mazes to build a resilient, interconnected, and highly-capable space program that is squarely in the middle of the most consequential unfolding space missions of the 21st century.

As humanity returns to the Moon in force, this time to stay, it is certain that Japan will be there. Their track record of steady growth, the ability to overcome setbacks, and actual investments from the national government are the hallmarks of a world-class space program ready to make its mark on the 21st century.

Patrick Chase is a space writer, political junkie, and lifelong space enthusiast.

Contact Astralytical for your space analysis needs.