Japan will participate in NASA's Lunar Gateway project for the Artemis program

Japan has officially announced that it will participate with NASA's Lunar Gateway project (via NHK), which will seek to establish an orbital research and staging station around the Moon. The Lunar Gateway is a key component of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land the first American woman and the next American man on the surface of the Moon by 2024. Japan's involvement was confirmed on Friday at a meeting of the country's Strategic Headquarters for National Space Policy, at which Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was present.