TOKYO: Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa on Monday expressed hopes to “pass on the baton” of his work to new astronauts, after a half-year stay on the International Space Station.

“I strongly felt that the latest mission is leading to exploration in the near future,” Furukawa said at a press conference in Tokyo, referring to experiments he conducted onboard the ISS of technology to be used in an international lunar exploration project.

“I hope to pass on the baton I have inherited to the next person, so that the work can continue,” he said.

Furukawa, 60, traveled to the ISS aboard the U.S. spacecraft Crew Dragon last August. After a roughly half-year stay on the ISS, he returned to Earth in March and underwent rehabilitation in the United States before coming back to Japan earlier this month.

He conducted numerous experiments while on the ISS, chiefly in its Kibo Japanese module, such as tests of a water recycling device to be used during lunar exploration and a drone designed to assist astronauts in tasks aboard the space station.

It was Furukawa’s first mission onboard the ISS in 12 years. When asked about what had changed from his previous experience, he said that “with no showers in zero gravity, sanitary products such as towels for wiping my body and face were comfortable.”

“Comfort is an important factor in an age in which many people go into space,” he said. “I hope people will make use of current technology to come up with and use even better ideas.”

JIJI Press