From putting a Japanese astronaut on the moon to developing the Lunar Gateway space station, the list of space projects Tokyo and Washington are working on is ambitious.
But bilateral cooperation is now set to expand even further, after the two spacefaring nations signed a framework agreement last week that will serve as the basis for their joint human space exploration efforts.
More than 10 years in the making, the pact will take the space partnership “to new heights,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday. Blinken said the agreement will strengthen collaboration in areas such as space technology and transportation; space operations and exploration, including on the moon; as well as aeronautical science and technology.
Although officials did not announce any new initiatives, the agreement — the text of which was not released — appears to focus on increasing efficiencies between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), particularly in the U.S.-led, multinational Artemis program. That program is meant to return astronauts to the moon as early as 2025 and establish a sustainable presence there to prepare missions to Mars and facilitate deep space exploration.
The pact will also help streamline the negotiation process of future bilateral deals that fall under this framework, said Scott Pace, a space policy expert at George Washington University.
"Rather than negotiating separate international agreements for each case of space cooperation, the framework provides an ‘umbrella’ structure under which specific, technical implementing agreements can be created," Pace said.
Experts such as Seiji Sugita, a planetary scientist at the University of Tokyo, say the deal will enable Japan-U.S. space exploration to reach new frontiers, as it sets the foundation for collaboration in outer space, as opposed to just low-Earth orbit activities such as those conducted at the International Space Station (ISS).
The deal, which emphasizes “free access to space” as well as “safety and mission assurance,” comes at an important time for both countries as they find themselves locked in a geostrategic competition with China.
Beijing is rapidly advancing its own space capabilities to catch up with and eventually surpass the U.S. as the dominant power in space.
Japan and the United States have cooperated on space projects for several decades, working together and with others on the ISS since the 1980s and recently agreeing to continue participating in the program until the station concludes operations by 2030.
Japan’s space capabilities have increased considerably since, with the country now being regarded as the U.S. ally with the most advanced deep space assets and technologies.
The two sides have been taking advantage of this mutually beneficial partnership, be it through know-how transfers or the use of each other’s capabilities.
For instance, while Japan has advanced space technology for reaching the moon, Venus and asteroids, it does not have a manned space vehicle or infrastructure such as NASA’s Deep Space Network array of giant radio antennas to support interplanetary spacecraft missions, Sugita said. These, as well as the vast expertise provided by U.S. scientists, are some of the elements Japan has benefited from.
In turn, the U.S. has benefited from Japanese capabilities such as the HTV cargo vehicle to support the ISS, as well as access to the data and experiences gained from Japanese space missions, Sugita noted.
They were also the first signatories of the Artemis Accords, acknowledging that the best approach to reach new space frontiers is one that is “fundamentally collaborative,” not only because it helps distribute the high cost of research, development and missions but also because it draws together international resources and know-how.
A key component of the Artemis program will be the multinational Lunar Gateway project, which aims to develop a research station orbiting the moon that is intended to also be used to prepare for Mars missions.
Last November, the two sides signed an agreement formalizing Japan’s contributions to both the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis project, which the U.S. Embassy in Japan described as “indispensable.”
“JAXA batteries will power the habitat and logistics outpost where astronauts will live and work, and Japanese life support systems will allow humans to stay in orbit around the Moon," the embassy said in a statement, adding that Japanese technology will enable astronauts to conduct experiments “that cannot be performed anywhere else.”
Japan’s contributions to the Gateway will include critical components of the international habitation module housing the core of the station’s life support capabilities, NASA announced last November. In addition, it will deliver the initial crew cabin for astronauts visiting the Gateway and the JAXA HTV-XG spacecraft for launch and delivery of a logistics resupply mission for the Gateway, scheduled for no later than 2030.
The projects will see Japanese astronauts aboard the station and taking part in a mission to the lunar surface, making Japan only the second country to put boots on the moon after the U.S.
Other projects being headed by JAXA include an attempt at a soft landing on the moon using the SLIM lunar lander, to take place during fiscal 2023 beginning in April, and a search for water on the moon's southern pole in fiscal 2024 or later, according to Matsui Takafumi, a professor and director of the Planetary Exploration Research Center at the Chiba Institute of Technology.
Experts such as independent scholar and author Namrata Goswami point out that the biggest challenge for Washington is to ensure that the Artemis program remains adequately funded. NASA also needs to ensure that Artemis keeps to timelines and can create a space narrative that celebrates all signatory states, she noted.
In terms of sustainable funding, Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of science and technology policy at the University of Tokyo, said that the budgetary process for Japan is likely to go smoothly because participation in the Artemis program is an "international commitment" that cannot be changed for domestic reasons.
The recently signed agreement will also enable the partnership to go beyond Artemis and enable collaborative efforts to remove dangerous space junk in low-Earth orbit, explained Zhanna Malekos Smith, a space expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explained.
Japan and China are vying to be at the leading edge of developing space debris mitigation technology, and with the signing of this framework, there is significant potential for Tokyo to lead the way to enable the prosperity and security of space for future generations, she said.
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