posted 01-12-2021 06:26 PM               

NASA, Government of Japan Formalize Gateway Partnership for Artemis Program

NASA and the Government of Japan have finalized an agreement for the lunar Gateway, an orbiting outpost that commercial and international partners will build together. This agreement strengthens the broad effort by the United States to engage international partners in sustainable lunar exploration as part of the Artemis program and to demonstrate the technologies needed for human missions to Mars.

Under this agreement, Japan will provide several capabilities for the Gateway's International Habitation module (I-Hab), which will provide the heart of Gateway life support capabilities and additional space where crew will live, work, and conduct research during Artemis missions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) planned contributions include I-Hab's environmental control and life support system, batteries, thermal control, and imagery components, which will be integrated into the module by the European Space Agency (ESA) prior to launch. These capabilities are critical for sustained Gateway operations during crewed and uncrewed time periods.

"We're honored to announce this latest agreement with Japan to support long-term human exploration on and around the Moon as part of the Artemis program," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "Strengthening our international partnerships and commitments to Artemis puts humanity on a solid path to achieve our common goals of sustainable lunar exploration by the end of this decade."

Under an arrangement with Northrop Grumman, Japan also will provide batteries for the Gateway's Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), the initial crew cabin for astronauts visiting the Gateway. Additionally, Japan is investigating enhancements to its HTV-X cargo resupply spacecraft, which could result in its use for Gateway logistics resupply.

"Leveraging the capabilities that international partners contribute to Gateway will be key to enabling access to the lunar surface," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "We are pleased to move forward in these groundbreaking efforts with Japan and our other partners."

The agreement also marks NASA's intent to provide crew opportunities for Japanese astronauts to the Gateway, which will be determined following additional discussions, and documented in a future arrangement.

Approximately one-sixth the size of the International Space Station, the Gateway will serve as a rendezvous point for astronauts traveling to lunar orbit aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket prior to transit to low-lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon. From the Gateway, NASA and its partners will use this lunar vantage point as a springboard for robotic and human expeditions to the Moon, and on to Mars. 

"The capabilities provided by Japan are critical to enabling the interior environment of the Gateway allowing our crews to live and work for longer durations," said Dan Hartman, Gateway program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "With the life support systems from Japan, longer duration missions for the Artemis crews can be accomplished with reduced demands on logistics resupply."

NASA astronauts will board a commercially developed lander for the final leg of the journey to the lunar surface, and the agency has contracted with U.S. industry to develop the first two Gateway components, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the HALO, as well as the logistics resupply for Gateway.

Japan joins two other international partners in committing to the Gateway with NASA. In November 2020, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to collaborate on the Gateway. CSA's planned contributions include the outpost's external robotics system, robotic interfaces, and end-to-end robotic operations. In October 2020, NASA and ESA signed an agreement solidifying ESA's contributions to the Gateway, which include ESA's provision of the I-Hab module and refueling modules, along with enhanced lunar communications.

In March 2020, NASA selected the first two scientific investigations to fly aboard the Gateway, one from NASA and the other from ESA. NASA and Gateway's international partners will collaborate to share the scientific data that will be transmitted to Earth. Additional scientific payloads will be selected in the future to fly aboard the outpost.

In addition to supporting scientific research conducted by robotic and human lunar surface missions, the Gateway will support activities to test the technologies needed for human missions to Mars. For example, NASA will use the Gateway to demonstrate remote management and long-term reliability of autonomous spacecraft systems and other technologies.

posted 05-23-2022 04:53 PM               

President Biden: NASA to Welcome Japanese Astronaut Aboard Gateway

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in Tokyo Monday (May 23) where they announced progress on collaboration for human and robotic lunar missions. They confirmed their commitment to include a Japanese astronaut aboard the lunar Gateway outpost and their shared ambition to see a future Japanese astronaut land on the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis program.

"In recent years, the alliance between Japan and the United States has grown stronger, deeper, and more capable as we work together to take on new challenges – just as important as the opportunities – of a rapidly changing world," said President Biden. "A great example of this: We viewed Japan's lunar rover... a symbol of how our space cooperation is taking off, looking towards the Moon and to Mars. And I'm excited about the work we'll do together on the Gateway station around the Moon and look forward to the first Japanese astronaut joining us in the mission to the lunar surface under the Artemis program."

The United States and Japan are working to formalize the Japanese astronaut's inclusion on Gateway through an Implementing Arrangement later this year.

"Our shared ambition to see Japanese and American astronauts walk on the Moon together reflects our nations' shared values to explore space responsibly and transparently for the benefit of humanity here on Earth," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "With this historic announcement, President Biden is once again showing nations throughout the world that America will not go alone but with like-minded partners. Under Artemis, it's our intention to invest in and explore the cosmos with countries that promote science, economic opportunity, and a common set of shared values."

As part of ongoing collaborations on space and Earth science missions, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed the United States and Japan's continued cooperation on Earth science data sharing to improve scientific understanding of the Earth's changing climate.

In addition, the president confirmed the United States' intention to provide Japan with a sample from the asteroid Bennu in 2023, collected from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Japan provided the United States with an asteroid sample collected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission in 2021.

JAXA also is critical partner to NASA in helping the agency achieve its goals in science and human exploration, including on the International Space Station and through the Artemis. In 2020, Japan became an original signatory of the Artemis Accords and finalized an agreement with NASA to provide several capabilities for Gateway's I-HAB, which will provide the heart of Gateway life support capabilities and additional space where crew will live, work, and conduct research during Artemis missions. JAXA's planned contributions include I-HAB's environmental control and life support system, batteries, thermal control, and imagery components, which will be integrated into the module by ESA (European Space Agency) prior to launch. These capabilities are critical for sustained Gateway operations during crewed and uncrewed time periods

posted 11-17-2022 06:22 PM               

NASA, Japan Announce Gateway Contributions

NASA and the Government of Japan on Thursday announced further contributions by Japan to Gateway, a key component of the agency's Artemis missions for long-term lunar exploration. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated virtually from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in an event held in Tokyo that included Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.

Under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement, NASA will provide an opportunity for a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut to serve as a Gateway crew member on a future Artemis mission. This formally represents the first commitment by the U.S. to fly a Japanese astronaut beyond low-Earth orbit aboard NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.

"The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the globe. Space cooperation is a critical component of our alliance. While I was in Tokyo in September, Prime Minister Kishida and I discussed our mutual interest in strengthening our cooperation in outer space across commercial, civil, and security sectors. And today, building off that and many other discussions between our governments, we are delivering results," said Vice President Kamala Harris. "Japan's contributions will advance scientific knowledge and protect our brave astronauts exploring the depths of outer space. And it brings us one step closer to one day having a Japanese astronaut walk on the Moon. Today we celebrate U.S.-Japan cooperation in space, which has never been stronger."'

"For decades, Japanese and American astronauts have worked together to promote science and exploration in low-Earth orbit. Today's Gateway agreement represents the fulfillment commitments made by the Biden-Harris Administration and solidifies our nations' collaboration, which will help ensure continued discoveries on Gateway, the International Space Station, and beyond," said Nelson. "There is no doubt that discovery strengthens the U.S.-Japanese partnership, and discovery strengthens democracy – in the Indo-Pacific and across the globe. With this agreement, the U.S. and Japan will create more well-paying jobs, more research and development capabilities, and a growing capacity to compete in the 21st century together."

Japan's contributions to Gateway include critical components of the International Habitation (I-HAB) module that will provide the heart of the Gateway space station's life support capabilities, as well as space for crew to live, conduct research, and prepare for lunar surface activities during Artemis missions. Japan will provide I-HAB's Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), thermal control system functions, and cameras.

Japan also will provide batteries for I-HAB, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, the initial crew cabin for astronauts visiting the Gateway, and the European System Providing Refueling Infrastructure and Telecommunication (ESPRIT) refueling module.

In addition, Japan will provide the JAXA HTV-XG spacecraft for launch and delivery of a logistics resupply mission for Gateway, scheduled for no later than 2030.

Japan's contributions to Gateway will support longer duration stays at the lunar-orbiting outpost, enabling successful Artemis missions that advance exploration and scientific research in deep space.

NASA's Gateway Program is an international collaboration to establish humanity's first space station around the Moon as an essential element of NASA's Artemis missions. Gateway will provide many capabilities for sustained exploration and research in deep space, including docking ports for a variety of visiting spacecraft, space for crew to live and work, and onboard science investigations to study heliophysics, human health, and life sciences, among other areas. Gateway will be a critical platform for developing technology and capabilities to support future Mars exploration.