No Space to be Complacent: Three Whys and Three Musts

Abstract

We recently see more and more news about space. While participation by private companies is certainly welcome, space exploration and development, in principle, has been and will have to remain a national project. Huge amounts of resources, human as well as financial, are required. The author declares that Japan must engage in space exploration now and provides three reasons and three responsibilities that Japan should take on in participating in international space projects.