Non-American Mission Marks First Moon Landing Since 1972 by a Non-U.S. Entity

DEBARYLIFE – An astronaut is scheduled to land on the moon for the first time since 1972, and that astronaut isn’t an American for the first time in history.

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and President Joe Biden announced at a press conference on Wednesday that Japanese astronauts will make history on the surface of our nearest planetary neighbor when they embark on the Artemis lunar landing mission.

This news was reported by USA Today.

Announcing to reporters that “those ties stretch up to the Moon, where two Japanese astronauts will join future American missions, and one will become the first non-American ever to land on the moon,” Biden emphasized the long-standing scientific and educational ties between the two countries.

Kishida’s formal visit to Washington resulted in a meeting between the two leaders at the White House.

Although some nations and private businesses are already working with NASA on the Artemis project, it is rumored that Japan will be the one to supply and maintain a pressurized rover to support humans who would be living and working on the moon.

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With the pressurized rover, astronauts should be able to travel farther and stay on the lunar surface for extended periods to carry out research. To improve mission coherence, the White House has also directed NASA to establish a lunar time zone.

The first people to set foot on the moon were astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11. This happened on July 20, 1969. On December 14, 1972, American astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt completed the Apollo lunar mission by becoming the last people to step foot on the moon.

The Artemis mission intends to organize a long-term strategy to use the moon as a potential base for future space missions, including expeditions to Mars, in addition to bringing astronauts back to Earth.

Although some scientists believe that we are already destroying our nearest neighbor, the Moon remains a major goal for our space exploration efforts, which may be another sign of the Anthropocene.