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The Japan Space Education Center opened on the Sagamihara Campus of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science last year. This center is aimed not only at elementary and high-school students, but also at teachers, so that more class time will be spent on learning about space.
Astronaut Noguchi said that going to space was a dream of his childhood. I believe that many children share that dream. We would like them to hold onto that dream, so I think it is important to provide them with opportunities to learn about space.
I always say that all JAXA employees are teachers. It would be wonderful if our top-class scientists and engineers could visit schools and pass on their knowledge.
We would also like to create a place for those whose interest in space has grown in adulthood, including seniors. By doing so, we hope to increase the whole nation's enthusiasm for space research. The call for Japan to attempt manned space flight might eventually grow, too. For these reasons, I would like to start putting effort towards building enthusiasm on national level.
It was quite impressive that China succeeded in its second manned space flight last year.
China attended the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which was held just after its successful launch, and all other participating countries congratulated the Chinese space program on its efforts. China has steadily raised its launch success rate and reliability, and I think that was key to its success.
For humans to go into space, every contingency must be planned for. For instance, the life support system must work flawlessly. To have had two successful flights, China must have made significant advances in a wide range of technologies. Its achievement is remarkable.
Given sufficient budget, it is only a matter of time until Japan can make manned space fight happen with its own technology. In my opinion, the ideal way to make this happen is first to gain a national consensus. To do so, we must improve the reliability of our rockets until the public can trust that manned flight can be accomplished safely. We Japanese are highly cautious when it comes to matters concerning a risk to life. JAXA needs to keep that in mind, in order to overcome this more significant challenge.
