JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

I think intelligent creatures need to be challenged.
Losing that sense of challenge would be equal to committing suicide, in a sense.
Now, to give ourselves a new challenge, we need to tackle the next frontier. It is said that the search for intelligent civilizations in space can help us understand how fragile civilization is. This is a worthwhile goal.

We need to seriously consider the cost and benefits of sending humans to the outer limits.
I am involved in the submersible research vehicle Shinkai 6500, and we are faced with the dilemma that it would be better to send robots than humans. But there are things only humans can understand. For example, Astronaut Mamoru Mohri has been to space as well as the deep sea. He reports that he can tell the difference between the darkness of the deep sea and that of outer space. This is not something robots can do.

When I sank into the deep sea in Shinkai 6500 and saw living things in front of my eyes, I was extremely moved. I felt some kind of indescribable connection with the Earth. This feeling of connection went not only beyond space, but also beyond time. By going to a frontier, I felt that I was a member of the whole family of Earth's creatures. I believe people seek to go to this kind of frontier to feel that kind of connection with the Earth. Only a few people can visit this kind of frontier, so they must communicate their experience to others.

I believe that when we use our imaginative power, we need to be thoughtful and compassionate, so that we can feel that connection. If we put too much emphasis on cost performance, we are at the risk of putting too many restrictions on our research, leading to the rapid loss of our imagination power and interest in science, and the lack of compassion in children and adults. I believe the promotion of spiritual enrichment serves the best interests of the nation. Sending humans to frontiers and enhancing our imaginative power through their experience can contribute to this.

If we think about it rationally, we can say that a robot that can stay in the deep sea for 48 or 60 hours could take better pictures than Dr. Naganuma in the Shinkai 6500. The robot is more efficient, but it doesn't have Dr. Naganuma's passion.

Apollo 11 landed on the moon when I was a senior in high school. I remember feeling as if a jolt of electricity had gone through my body. I believe people all over the world must have felt the same way. It was one of the most moving events in the 20th century for humankind.

The Apollo mission brought back 300 kg of lunar rocks, which enabled us to learn more about the early years of the solar system. But if those same rocks had been collected by ten unmanned probes, it wouldn't have been as exciting and the impact on human history would have been far less significant. The manned flights were that important.

If unmanned missions brought back that many rocks from Mars, our research would take a tremendous leap forward. But I believe that we should try to send humans, considering the emotional impact of manned missions.

I also think that we need to strive for new challenges.

There are frontiers everywhere, including exploring space and unravelling the secrets of life. Building new technology and acquiring knowledge and skills also expands our frontiers. But the real frontier, in my opinion, is broadening our minds and expanding our environment by reaching into the unknown, in order to become different from what we were yesterday. Life is short, so we should be positive and strive as hard as possible to accomplish everything we can. We owe this to the children who will be born 100 years from now.

There are successes and failures in our lives and in our research.

If we succeed at something, we tend to flatter ourselves, to be excessively self-conscious, and to be vulnerable to temptation. We need to remember to celebrate our successes sensibly. If we fail in something, on the other hand, we need to have a chance to get over it - to figure out a way out of the failure and to learn a lesson from it.

There have been both successes and failures in the history of humankind and civilization. I too have gone through both. Based on my own experience, I think the most important thing in case of failure is to take advantage of the opportunity to learn a lesson.