JAXA President’s Comment on the Selection of JAXA Astronaut as a Member of the ISS Expedition Crew

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that Astronaut Takuya Onishi has been assigned as the sixth Japanese astronaut to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for a prolonged period of time.

Astronaut Onishi was selected as an ISS astronaut candidate in February 2009, and has undergone various training to acquire the necessary skills for an ISS expedition astronaut. In case of an emergency where the Soyuz commander has problems, Astronaut Onishi would take the place of the commander to pilot the Soyuz vehicle. I believe that the decision this time stems from the international reliance on Astronaut Onishi’s skills as well as our steady operations of the “Kibo,” ISS’s Japanese experiment module and “KOUNOTORI,” the cargo transporter to the ISS.

Through continued ISS expedition missions by Japanese astronauts, we would like to accumulate our achievements in manned space activities and collect diversified technology and knowledge in view of future missions such as international manned space exploration. We would also like to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of younger generations who will shoulder the future through Japanese astronauts’ activities, and generate more results that are beneficial for society.

I would like to express my profound appreciation to all people and parties concerned in the selection this time.

Naoki Okumura

President

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

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