The three Japanese astronauts certified to fly on U.S. space shuttle missions spoke Wednesday in Tokyo of their achievements and what lies ahead.
Satoshi Furukawa, 41, Akihiko Hoshide, 37, and Naoko Yamazaki, 35, hope to conduct experiments in the Japanese space laboratory Kibo, which is to be added to the International Space Station.
The NASA gave the mission-specialist title to the two men and one women, which allows them to to work on assembling Kibo.
"Studying (for the certification test) was so hard that it reminded me of the years I studied as a student to enter school," Furukawa said. "I want to give my all to building and operating Kibo."
Yamazaki, whose husband and daughter live in the United States with her, said she was able to get the certification because of her family's support and thanked all the people who had helped her.
Hoshide hopes that he will also get the opportunity to do other work in space, saying, "I want to join missions like manned explorations of the moon and Mars."