日本的目標是在 2020 年代後期將人送上月球

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Japan aims to put a person on the moon by late 2020s

Fumio Kishida

Mon, December 27, 2021, 9:45 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan revised the schedule of its space exploration plans on Tuesday, aiming to put a Japanese person on the moon by the latter half of the 2020s.

"Not only is space a frontier that gives people hopes and dreams but it also provides a crucial foundation to our economic society with respect to our economic security," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a meeting to finalize the plan.

According to the draft schedule of the plan, Japan aims to put the first non-American on the moon as part of the Artemis program, a U.S.-led initiative that aims to return astronauts to the moon.

The plan also spells out Japan's aspirations to launch a probe to explore Mars in 2024, as well as to find ways to generate solar electricity in space.

Neighboring China also aims to become a major spacefaring power by 2030, and it too plans to put astronauts on the moon, raising the prospect of an Asian space race.

In May, China became the second country to put a rover on Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon.

Japan's announcement of its space exploration targets comes a week after Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa returned to earth after spending 12 days aboard the International Space Station, becoming the first space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Translation

東京（路透社）- 日本週二修改了太空探索計劃的時間表，目標是在 2020 年代後半期將一名日本人送上月球。

岸田文雄首相在一次會議上敲定計劃說： “太空不僅是給人們希望和夢想的疆界，而且還為我們的經濟社會提供了在經濟安全方面的重要基礎” 。

根據該計劃的草案時間表，日本的目標是將第一位非美國人送上月球。作為 Artemis 計劃的一部分，這是一項由美國主導的旨在讓宇航員重返月球的計劃。

該計劃還闡明了日本希望在 2024 年發射探測火星的探測器，並尋找在太空中產生太陽電能的方法。

鄰國中國還計劃到2030年成為航天大國，併計劃將宇航員送上月球，從而提高了亞洲的太空競賽前景。

今年 5 月，中國在第一艘航天器登陸月球背面兩年後，成為第二個將火星車送上火星的國家。

日本太空探索目標, 是在日本億萬富翁前澤友作 (Yusaku Maezawa) 在國際空間站上度過 12 天後返回地球之後一周宣布，他成為十多年來第一位前往國際空間站的太空遊客。

       So, as Japan’s neighbor China is also aiming to become a major spacefaring power by 2030 and also planning to put astronauts on the moon, the prospect of an Asian space race seems unavoidable.