Japan agrees with U.S.-led plan to extend ISS operations to 2030

e Japanese government intends to agree to a U.S. proposal to extend the operation of the International Space Station until 2030, thereby delaying the station’s planned retirement for six years, e Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

According to sources, it intends to emphasize the importance of Japan-U.S. cooperation by being the rst among the participating countries to agree to the U.S. proposal.

Japan wants to ensure its astronauts can perform their missions and acquire technology for future lunar exploration, the sources said.

Construction of the ISS, which orbits 400 kilometers above the Earth, started in 1998, mainly by the U.S. and Russia.

e facility was completed in 2011. Japanese astronauts have frequently stayed on the ISS for long periods of time.

Japan, Canada, Russia, the United States and 11 European countries had agreed to operate the ISS until 2024. However, the U.S. National Aeronautics

and Space Administration announced at the end of last year its intention to extend the station's operation until 2030.

Russia launched its invasion of

Ukraine in February, a er the Japanese government had begun discussions about the request for cooperation from the U.S. government. Japan has been carefully considering the issue, keeping a close eye on Russia’s repeated threats to withdraw from the ISS.

European countries are expected to consent to the proposal later this month, and Japan decided it would be bene cial to make a statement before they do so, the sources said.

Japan is also participating in Artemis, a U.S. space exploration program that aims to send a manned spacecra to the moon.

e Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is planning to conduct a technological demonstration of the HTV-X cargo spacecra , a new type of unmanned supply spacecra that will carry supplies to lunar orbital bases and other locations. Japan also intends to utilize the ISS as a place for astronauts to gain on-site experience, and to re ect this experience in future lunar exploration.

e government allocates tens of billions of yen annually to the ISS program. Securing a huge budget for this and lunar exploration will be a challenge in the future, observers said. (Nov. 15)

The Yomiuri Shimbun Astronaut Koichi Wakata answers questions during an online press conference from the International Space Station in October.