Arab News Japan

Takuya Onishi has left for space for his second International Space Station mission.

The Japanese astronaut, along with three foreign crew members, embarked Friday on his mission aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from Florida.

The spacecraft was separated from the rocket some 10 minutes after the launch. It is set to dock with the ISS the next day.

According to JIJI Press, Onishi, who is in his first flight to space since 2016, will stay in the ISS for about a half year. He will serve as ISS commander in the latter half of his mission, taking charge of the overall ISS operations and the safety of the crew members.

He will be the third Japanese ISS commander, after Koichi Wakata, 61, and Akihiko Hoshide, 56.

During his stay, Onishi will conduct various experiments mainly in Japan’s experiment module Kibo. He will examine how the microgravity environment affects the efficacy of a cancer therapeutic drug in fruit flies with genetic mutations for pancreatic cancer. He will also test carbon dioxide removal equipment for possible application in lunar explorations.