4月5日のPick up
Rising Hopes
日本初の宇宙拠点「きぼう」の大役果たし、土井さん帰還
Astronaut Doi Takao answers questions during a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 27.(AP)
Just like the boomerang he threw during an experiment in space, Japanese astronaut Doi Takao is back after thespace shuttle Endeavour landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 26.
During the shuttle’s 16-day mission, Doi, 53, attached the storage compartment for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Kibo to the International Space Station, giving Japan its first ever space in space.
“It was a great moment not only for me, but for Japan,” Doi said just before the Endeavour got ready to land.
During the mission, during which the shuttle traveled 10.46 million kilometers,Doi set up the first section of Kibo, which will be completed on later shuttle missions to take place at the end of this year and next year.
JEM Project Manager Yokoyama Tetsuro from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) told a news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Texas during the mission about the importance of Kibo.
“Kibo is as big an accomplishment for the Japanese as the Apollo 11 moon landings,” he said.
JAXA hopes to haveKibo operating for about 10 years. In its first two to three years, about 100 experiments are planned for the space laboratory. The next stage of Kibo’s construction will be carried out when astronaut Hoshide Akihiko flies on a space shuttle Discovery mission due to take off in late May. Within this year, flight engineer Wakata Koichi is also expected to fly to Kibo and spend several months working
there.
(By Ryann Connell, Mainichi Weekly)
Celebrity of the week
朝青龍が復活のＶ
Asashoryu celebrates after winning
the Emperor’s Cup at the Spring
Grand Tournament on March 23 in
Osaka. The Mongolian wrestler defeated
Hakuho on the tournament’s
final day. Holding a mic, he thanked
the local fans while speaking in the
Kansai dialect. His victory was his
13th of the tournament, giving him
his 22nd Emperor’s Cup.
コンテンツ提供： 毎日ウィークリー ---購読申込み受付中！---