List of monthly seminar held by Japanese Moon Village Study Group 2020-2021
Due to the COVID-19 influences, most of the workshop was held on web-basis. Attendants of 100-150 joined on each workshop. Presentation materials (most of them were Japanese writing) are seen in the website: http://www.jasma.info/moonvillagestudy/2020-2/ and http://www.jasma.info/moonvillagestudy/2021-2/
Workshop-1, July 31, 2020
“The Goals of Moon Village Reference Modeling”
INATANI Yoshifumi (JAXA/MVA)
There will be a wide variety of things to consider when developing sustainable human activities on a scale that can be called “society” on the Moon and/or planets, or space outside the Earth. Maintaining life and economic activities in an environment different from the Earth and sustaining human activities including migration and generational change will require a new system construction based on the concepts different from the methods and ideas acquired in conventional space development as well as viewpoints from humanities and social science studies. As the next development of the activities, we are currently working on, such as the ISS and human lunar exploration, it is meaningful to first consider from various aspects a concrete example of building a society from sustainable human activities on the Moon. We provide materials for discussing the direction of the activities of this study group, such as the purpose of this study group as a platform for extracting various issues and discussing them and the proposal of a thought experiment by constructing a reference model.
Workshop-2, August 27, 2020
“Resource and Energy Development toward Living on the Planets”
GOTO Takuya (Doshisha University)
Everything used in space exploration and utilization today is made of materials found on Earth. On the other hand, when aiming for future human activities in space and living in space, “in-situ resource utilization (ISRU)” is required based on the idea of “local production for local consumption in space”. I will introduce the results of research conducted by the authors using the lunar regolith simulator and the recent international trends, regarding the potential of regolith, which is abundant on the surface of the Moon, as a resource.
“Building (Creating) a “Society” in Space – from the Viewpoint of Cultural Anthropology”
OKADA Hiroki (Kobe University)
In my presentation, I would like to first point out the actual state and problems of the imagination when considering the image of society in space, and then show the diversity of the existing human “society” from ethnographic materials. Next, I would like to consider that there are some problems in designing society and culture only with scientific and technological approaches that emphasize rational causal relationships and explainability. Finally, I will introduce the actor network theory, which has been attracting attention in cultural anthropology in recent years, as a method of grasping science/technology and the fields of society/culture in a complex manner.
Workshop-3, September 11, 2020
“SDGs-led space businesses” – Investigating the significance of space development for humans
KUROSU Satoshi (Yokogawa Electric Co.)
“Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” is a goal common to all humankind adopted by the United Nations in 2015 with the philosophy of “no one is left behind”. I will introduce the latest trends in the world of SDGs with the activities of international organizations such as World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) of which I serve as a director. Then, I will discuss how the space sector should contribute to the SDGs by referring to the examples of private companies that regard the SDGs as a business opportunity.
Workshop-4, October 5, 2020
Designing “life in space”
MIYAJIMA Hiroyuki (International University of Health and Welfare)
As the word “space architecture” implies, there are many presentations that propose habitation on a planet from the perspective of architecture, but there are few proposals that quantitatively evaluate and design the “life in space” as a whole. In this presentation, based on NASA’s report and reference model, as well as my experience of participating in habitat simulation in the United States, I will introduce the planetary habitable facilities I designed so far (from the facility for two persons staying on the Moon and Mars, and in outer space to a space city of one million people) and their design methods. These past projects have examined not only resource regeneration and local procurement during long-term stays, but also various aspects such as technology, economy, society, culture, politics, and aesthetics.
Workshop-5, November 6, 2020
“Past, Present, and Future of “the Work of Humans for Outer Space Activities” – the World of Space Mandala”
YANAGAWA Koji (The Japan Society of Aeronautical and Space Sciences)
Approximately 10 years ago, as part of the study of the ISS utilization, the issue of “what is the role of humanities and social science research in space” was raised to support the diverse expansion of human space activities in the future. In order to approach this issue, three propositions were set as below and examined: (1) what is the guiding principle of humankind advancing into space, (2) what is the intellectual foundation for protecting the Earth, and (3) how to build the governance of “human society in space”. In my presentation, I will introduce the results of examination, using the figure called “Human Efforts to Space (Space Mandala)” created for the purpose of giving a bird’s-eye view of various aspects of human space activities up to the 22nd century.
“A Scenario for Construction of “Human Society on the Moon” and Issues in Humanities and Social Sciences Studies”
SHIMIZU Junichiro (Former member of the space anthropology study group)
Following the previous presentation by Mr. Yanagawa, I will focus on Proposition (1) and introduce some ideas that can be the basis of the idea construction (examined as “space humanities”). I will also discuss the clues for approaching the humanities and social issues necessary for the construction process and the realization of human society, assuming the future “human society on the Moon”.
Workshop-6, December 3, 2020
“Developing a Protein Plant in Space”
NIKAWA Takeshi (Tokushima University)
In recent years, human space exploration plans have been announced not only in Europe and the United States but also in Japan. JAXA announced a human lunar exploration plan around 2030. NASA is also aiming for human exploration on Mars. Then, what will be most needed for space activities is “food.” For a short distance away as the International Space Station, it is easy to replenish the ingredients, but on Mars, it will be essential to cultivate the ingredients. Many of you have seen the movie “The Martian”, but in that movie, a science fiction story, the main character left behind on Mars survives for about two years eating potatoes and returns safely to Earth. However, potatoes are mostly of carbohydrate and contain almost no fats or proteins of the three major nutrients. If you spend two years with only such ingredients, you should be almost immobile due to lack of calories. As this illustrates, the most deficient nutrient in space food is protein. We need to scientifically devise a system for efficiently mass-producing proteins that have functionality against diseases caused by the space environment.
“Measuring Space Radiation Doses – Invisible Lifeline to Live in Space – Is Life in COVID-19 Pandemic Pseudo Space Life?”
TERASAWA Kazuhiro (Keio University)
One of the factors that limits the length of stay in space is exposure to cosmic radiation. Constant exposure is received by particles from galactic cosmic rays and radiation belts (in low Earth orbit). Sudden exposure is received when solar flares occur. The dose rate of the former is about 0.5 to 1 mSv/day, and it is expected to exceed 1 mSv/day outside the geomagnetic field. For long-term missions to the Moon and especially to Mars, it is necessary to be prepared to reach or exceed the lifetime dose limit of ~1 Sv even with galactic cosmic ray exposure alone. For the latter, the exposure is not as high as the main energy region of galactic cosmic ray exposure, so exposure can be reduced if there is no direct hit without a shield, but if not, it is necessary to assume that it will be in Sv order. I would like to introduce the actual measurement examples of Japan, and from the standpoint of radiation exposure, mention a few matters that are considered necessary for creating a village on the Moon for your consideration.
Workshop-7, January 20, 2021
“Advancement of Space Humanities and Social Studies: Focusing on, Ethics, and Science and Technology Studies”
ISOBE Hiroaki (Kyoto City University of Arts)
The humanities and social sciences related to space traditionally have fields such as space law and space policy, but in recent years they have expanded to fields such as cultural anthropology, ethics, and science and technology social theory. In this presentation, I will introduce the research trends of the humanities and social sciences related to space, focusing on those involved in the Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space of Kyoto University. I would like to emphasize that in order for the humanities and social sciences of space to have true academic significance, it must not be used to justify and support humankind advancing into space and in some cases it should be used for an objection. On the other hand, space is an interesting field that brings new perspectives and issues to the humanities and social sciences themselves, which have the fundamental question of what human beings and societies are. I would like to introduce some issues regarding this “humanities and social sciences in the field of space”.
Workshop-8, February 22, 2021
“A Construction Consultant’s View on Building of a Lunar City”
MATSUSHIMA Kenta (CTI Engineering Co. Ltd.)
From the perspective of a construction consultant who conducts civil engineering design and city planning, I will report the results of considering the development from lunar base construction to lunar city, mainly from the aspects of location, lunar city planning, and social construction.
“To Realize High-Frequency Space Transportation”
SAKAMOTO Yuki (JAXA)
Drastic reduction of transportation costs is an important issue for the realization of high frequency and large-scale space transportation. In this presentation, I will report on the status of the study on the future transportation of Earth-Moon-Mars.
Workshop-9, March 26, 2021
“A suggestion to managing a lunar society as a cooperative organization”
NAGAI Kiyohiko (Deloitte Tohmatsu Group)
It is expected that the human living area will be developed on the Moon as “Moon Village” beyond the human lunar exploration program “Artemis” and the lunar orbiting human base “Gateway”, which have been announced one after another in recent years. In the history of space development of more than 60 years, the development entities and purposes are not uniform, and changes have been seen from time to time. But there is no doubt that the “Moon Village” era will add new aspects. In this presentation, I attempt to sort out the ideal organizational management of the group that is active there, assuming the entities and purposes at each stage of space development. Then, looking at “Moon Village” as an extension of the development, I would like to try to discuss the desirable organizational management.
“Rules concerning the Activities at the International Lunar Base- an Analogy from the ISS”
SATOH Masahiko (JAXA)
The ISS is a human-rated complex (complex facility) including pressurized modules provided by international partners. Its operation is based on international rules centered on intergovernmental agreements of 15 countries. If this ISS orbiting the Earth’s low earth orbit is relocated to the surface of the Moon as is (conceptually of course), we should be able to see how much of the international rules applied to the ISS could be applied to the international human base on the surface of the Moon and what rules are missing. Through such case studies, the state of legal order in the coming “Moon Village” era is considered.
Workshop-10, April 23, 2021
“Constructing Lunar Habitats and 3D Printing Technology”
TSURUMAKI Takashi (Heatherwick Studio)
・ Architect’s responsibilities
・ Differences in performance requirements for Earth architecture and lunar architecture
・ ESA’s 3D printed lunar habitat (construction flow and details)
・ Overview of 3D printing technology and future possibilities
“Interim Report from Business Subgroup of the Reference Model Study Working Group”
UCHIDA Atsuhi (Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.: MRI)
ASAZUMA Taro (ispace, Inc.)
The Moon Village Study Group is working on building a reference model and conducting a thought experiment. In constructing the reference model, the architecture subgroup, the humanities/cultural science subgroup, the social science subgroup, and the business subgroup are formed. In this presentation, we will introduce the progress of the business subgroup of the reference model working group. Based on the estimated results of the size of the water resources market and the tourism market, we would like to discuss with you about the business in the expected lunar society.
Workshop-11, May 26, 2021
“Progress Toward the Moon Village: A Reference Architecture for the First Lunar Settlement by 2045”
MANKINS John (Moon Village Association)
During 2020-2021, the Moon Village Association (MVA) Architecture Working Group isconducting a “case study” that is defining a reference architecture for the first lunar “settlement – to be realizes by 2045. The study is addressing requirements for a settlement, siting options, and a preliminary definition of a settlement. During December 2020, an online workshop was held over three days that provided the opportunity for researchers, and technologists around the world to present and characterization of key building blocks for a settlement (such as transportation systems) and the interactions among these building blocks. This presentation will review progress to day and provide some important highlights of the emerging Lunar Settlement 2045.
Workshop-12, June 29, 2021, ”Life Science”
“Life science Subgroup of the Reference Model Study Working Group”
IZUMI Ryutaro (Nihon University)
I would like to report on the current state of the medical and life science issues in the lunar and planetary societies and discuss how to proceed in the future. Especially in the fields of medicine and life science, technological progress is rapid and it is necessary to consider the situation 50 to 100 years in the future when the lunar and planetary society is expected to be realized. For humankind to advance into space, three major issues are (1) space radiation, (2) no/low gravity (especially with regards to musculoskeletal system), and (3) mental psychology. But in the case of lunar development, (4) lunar dust (i.e., regolith) must also be considered. Furthermore, I would like to raise discussions not only from the perspective of medical issues but also from the perspective of human evolution.
“Issues concerning Protection from Space Radiation in Deep Space Missions””
YASUDA Hiroshi (Hiroshima University)
One of the greatest concerns in deep space missions to the Moon and Mars is exposure to cosmic radiation, especially high-energy solar flare particles. Encountering huge solar flares outside the Earth’s magnetosphere can lead to acute health problems that can interfere with mission performance. An overview of the risks of exposure and the challenges for dose reduction will be given.
“Exercising in Space and Rehabilitation in the 21st Century”
YAMADA Shin (Kyorin University)
In a long-term space mission, exercise in a low gravity environment and rehabilitation after returning to the Earth are essential. Looking back on the 20-year history of the International Space Station on the development and operation of exercise equipment and exercise protocols and looking ahead to the next 50 years + α with an eye on living on the Moon and Mars, the issues to be overcome and the strategy to search for solutions are discussed.
Workshop-13, July 28, 2021
“Panel Discussion for Transportation System for Lunar Society”
The Moon Village Study Group, holding a meeting once a month, has been discussing not only the topic of engineering technology for building a society on the Moon, but also a wide range of issues such as business, social science, and humanities. For today’s panel discussion, as a new attempt, we would like to have a debate to think about the system to support the society built on the Moon and transportation architecture. We will provide the materials for discussion regarding the current and near-future space transportation systems that ISS/Artemis achieved or is aiming to achieve, the future transportation system to be responsible for human transportation to serve extremely large-scale supply chains, water resources utilization, tourism and so on discussed in the reference model investigated in our study group, how to develop the new transportation system from the current transportation system, and what is necessary for that. We would like to have an interesting discussion with contribution from the panelists regarding their various experiences and what they are doing now.
As a keynote for the panel discussion, starting from the current transportation architecture, topics to consider what kind of transportation system is necessary for a society of 1,000 people and 10,000 tourists a year are provided.
Panel Talks
Moderator: INATANI Yoshifumi (JAXA/MVA)
Panelists:
SASAKI Hiroshi (JAXA Director of human space)
YUI Kimiya (JAXA Astronaut)
TSUJITA Daisuke (Engineer of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
UCHIDA Atsuhi (a promotor of lunar commercialization; MRI)
ASAZUMA Taro (ispace: one of the major space ventures in Japan)
Workshop-14, September 8, 2021
“An interim report of the reference model study”
A discussion and studies of a reference model of the society on the Moon have been conducted. Following five sub-groups were active on the studies for figuring out how this “Reference Model” is looking like. Interim report of their studies from these subgroups were presented.
Architecture Group interim report:
SAKAMOTO Yuki (JAXA)
Social Science Group interim report:
KITAMURA Naohiro (Century Law Firm)
Business Group interim report:
UCHIDA Atsuhi (MRI)
Humanities/Cultural Science Group interim report:
OKADA Hiroki (Kobe University)
Life Science Group interim report:
IZUMI Ryutaro (Nihon University)
Workshop-15, October 7, 2021 “A New Science on the Moon”
“Gravitational Wave Observation on the Lunar Surface””
UENO Munetaka (JAXA)
There are various possibilities for observing space from the lunar surface, but among them, the gravitational wave interferometer can take the great advantage of the lunar surface environment. Gravity wave observations are being promoted by ground-based optical interferometers such as the KAGRA project in Japan, and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 was awarded for observations by LIGO. In addition to ground-based observations, orbital observations are also being promoted (ESA, LISA program, etc.). Each method on the ground and in orbit has its own merits for the observation target, and there is an observation area that both are not good at. In such observation area, observation on the coalescence of intermediate-mass black holes, which have important implications for the origin of supermassive black holes, is included. In the observation of this area, the optical interferometer on the lunar surface has a great advantage. The gravitational wave interferometer on the lunar surface is introduced.
“Observation to Understand the Inner Structure of the Moon”
KAWAMURA Taichi (Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris)
The geophysical exploration of the Moon, especially its internal structure and processes, has been recognized as a scientifically high priority from the time of the Apollo Program to the present. Observations with the observation equipment installed by the Apollo Program have been very successful in deepening the understanding of the lunar formation process, and still occupy most of the knowledge about the subsurface of the Moon. However, due to the limitations of the observation equipment technology used at that time and the geographical limitation of the Apollo landing sites, there is still insufficient information to elucidate the internal structure of the Moon. By establishing an observation station/observation network on the surface of the Moon in line with the development of the lunar base, it is possible to proceed with observations for the full-scale elucidation of the internal structure and to understand the internal structure and formation process. It is possible to aim at research and, by extension, to give a final conclusion to the mystery of the formation of the Earth-Moon system.
Workshop-16, November 8, 2021
“Activities of SIC Human Spaceology Center of Kyoto University,”
YAMASHIKI Yosuke (Kyoto University)
At the SIC Human Spaceology Center of Kyoto University, with the theme of human advancement into space and habitability, we aim to build an academic system that human beings must think about when building a space society in other celestial bodies. We are developing activities aimed at building a new academic system by integrating a wide range of research such as planetary habitation, space life, space medicine, space forest, space ocean, and planetary science. We aim for the sustainable stay of the Moon and Mars, and based on those findings, we have set development philosophies and goals that will lead to the sustainable development of humankind on Earth. A particularly important viewpoint is how much “Earth ecosystem” should be brought to space development, which has been conceived only for the development of “survival infrastructure” in space. With the major goal of investigating this point fundamentally, we interpret the Earth ecosystem as a “core biome complex”, bring the selected “selected core biomes” to the Moon and Mars, and use them as a base to build life foundation and society construction in space. Based on this theme, we are launching joint research with supporting companies, including applications for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research and so on. Theses research activities are not limited to the Moon, but I will introduce general research activities of our center, intended to deepen discussion and exchanges between our organizations, by exploring the interfaces of this study group to “Build a Society on the Moon”.
“Eating Fish in Space – a Topic on Cultivation in Space”
ENDO Masato (Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology)
Food production for space habitation has been studied for a long time, and various food productions have been proposed centering on the cultivation of land plants. On the other hand, fish have been used for vertebrate experiments in space since the early days, and many results including breeding have been achieved. Against this background, we have continued to verify the availability of fish farming as a source of food production during space habitation, especially for animal proteins and lipids, with the edible fish tilapia as the target species for aquaculture. The first is research to create an aquatic ecosystem with controlled material flow and to cultivate tilapia in it. The other is how fish and other aquatic organisms respond under different gravity. We have researched to verify the conditions under which organisms used for material cycle aquaculture can be bred, especially under low gravity and microgravity. I will introduce these research results and explore the possibility of space aquaculture.
Workshop-17, December 8, 2021; ”Energy on the Moon”
“Developing a Hydrogen Supply Chain on Earth and a Concept of Hydrogen Energy Supply on the Moon”
KAMIYA Yoji (Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.: KHI)
Currently, Japan is making national efforts to lead the world in hydrogen utilization. We are promoting the necessary research and development to build an international hydrogen supply chain and commercialize the mass consumption of hydrogen from hydrogen power generation around 2030. In this presentation, I will first introduce the significance and current situation of these hydrogen projects on the Earth, and introduce the results of examining the concept of producing hydrogen on the lunar surface and using it as a propellant and energy carrier. We will discuss the application to the reference model of building lunar society.
“Status of R&D on Solar Energy Generation in Space and Technical Application for the Moon”
SHINOHARA Naoki (Kyoto University)
Since space solar power generation was addressed in the 1st Space Basic Plan, research and development has been accelerated in Japan. In recent years, large-scale projects have been launched mainly in the United States and China, and research and development is progressing all over the world. In this presentation, I will summarize the current state of research and development in the world of space solar power generation, and will also provide topics on proposals for energy technology in the moon centered on the application of wireless power supply technology.