The JAXA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

(JAXA) that selects, trains, and provides

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s as crew members for U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has six active members, able to serve on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS).

History

The first Japanese astronauts were chosen by NASDA, the predecessor to JAXA, in 1985 to train as international mission specialists in the Space Shuttle program. The first Japanese citizen to fly in space was

Toyohiro Akiyama is a retired Japanese TV journalist and professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. In December 1990, he spent seven days aboard the Mir space station. He became the first person of Japanese nationality to fly in space, and his space miss ...

, a journalist sponsored by TBS, who flew on the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Soyuz TM-11 Soyuz TM-11 was the eleventh expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir, using a Soyuz-TM crew transport vessel. The mission notably carried a Japanese television reporter from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Tokyo Broadcasting System.The ...

in December 1990. He spent more than seven days in space on the

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

space station, in what the Soviets called their first commercial spaceflight which allowed them to earn $14 million. The first member of the Japanese Astronaut Corps to fly was

Mamoru Mohri , AM is a Japanese scientist, a former NASDA astronaut, and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. He is the first Japanese astronaut who was part of an official Japanese space program. The first Japanese person in space, Toyohiro Akiy ...

aboard

STS-47 STS-47 was the 50th NASA Space Shuttle mission of the program, as well as the second mission of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and material sciences inside Spacelab-J, a collaborativ ...

in 1992. On 1 October 2003, three organizations were merged to form the new JAXA: Japan's

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Since 2003, it is a division of Japan Aerospace E ...

(ISAS), the

National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan The National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) was established in July 1955. Originally known as the National Aeronautical Laboratory, it assumed its present name with the addition of the Aerospace Division in 1963. Since its establishment, it ha ...

(NAL), and

National Space Development Agency of Japan The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, ...

(NASDA). JAXA was formed as an

Independent Administrative Institution An Incorporated Administrative Agency (独立行政法人, ''Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin'' or ''Dokugyo'' in abbreviation) is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrat ...

administered by the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(MEXT) and the

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...

(MIC).

Organization

The Astronauts Corps is one of the main divisions within JAXA. There are seven active astronauts in the corps and four former astronauts, all of whom have gone into space. Astronaut

Kimiya Yui is a Japanese astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He was selected for the agency in 2009. Biography Yui, from Nagano Prefecture, enrolled in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force after he graduated from the National Defense ...

serves as the head of the corps.

Qualifications

JAXA generally recruits astronauts who have degrees as scientists, engineers and/or medical doctors. In addition to being Japanese citizens or residents, candidates must meet certain physical standards (including height, weight, hearing and visual acuity), educational requirements, and be fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Members

Active astronauts

JAXA has seven active astronauts who have all flown to the International Space Station.

Former astronauts

There are five former JAXA astronauts.

Selection groups

* 1985 NASDA Group * 1992 NASDA Group * 1996 NASDA Group * 1999 NASDA Group * 2009 JAXA Group

References

{{Reflist

External links

JAXA Astronaut Corps
Lists of astronauts