Biden Says Japanese Will Be First Non-American on Moon

AFP/APP

Washington: A Japanese person will be the first non-American to walk on the Moon, US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday during a state visit by Japan’s prime minister.

US-Japan “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 said during a press conference.

The United States has set a goal of returning to the Moon for the first time since 1972. Only 12 people have walked on the Moon, all of them Americans and all white men.

Under the Artemis program of NASA, the United States has also set a goal of sending a woman and a person of color to the Moon.

The Artemis II mission expected in late 2025 will fly around the Moon. The program’s third mission — scheduled for the end of 2026 but facing possible further delays — intends to land humans on the lunar surface.