日本人飛行士も月面着陸へ　岸田首相、米ＮＡＳＡ訪問

　【ワシントン時事】訪米中の岸田文雄首相は１３日、ワシントンにある米航空宇宙局（ＮＡＳＡ）本部を訪問し、日米両政府による「宇宙協力枠組協定」の署名に立ち会った。それに先立つ演説では「日米宇宙飛行士の月面活動など多くの計画が予定されている」と述べ、将来の日本人宇宙飛行士による月面着陸に言及した。
　１９６９年にアポロ計画による人類初の月面着陸が行われたが、日本人による着陸はこれまでない。ＮＡＳＡがアルテミス計画で再び月探査を進める中、バイデン米大統領が昨年５月の訪日時に実現の可能性を指摘していた。（2023/01/14-10:09）

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the headquarters of NASA in Washington on Friday to witness the signing of a Japan-U.S. space cooperation framework agreement.
   "The U.S.-Japan space cooperation has entered a new era with the Artemis project, and many projects, including lunar activities, are already in the works by Japanese and U.S. astronauts," Kishida said in a speech at an event preceding the signing.
   The first human landing on the moon was realized in 1969 under NASA's Apollo program. No Japanese citizens have ever set foot on the lunar surface.
   With the U.S. space agency working to resume lunar surface exploration under the Artemis project, U.S. President Joe Biden, during his visit to Japan in May last year, hinted at the possibility of the first landing on Earth's natural satellite by a Japanese astronaut being realized.
   The space collaboration agreement was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. "It'll strengthen our partnership in areas like...our shared ambition to see a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface," Blinken said.