TOPICS 01

Ritsumeikan University Selected as a Space Strategy Fund SX Research and Development Site

On January 31, 2025, Ritsumeikan University (Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto; President: Yoshio Nakatani) was selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as an SX Research and Development Site, one of JAXA’s technology development themes under the FY2024 Space Strategy Fund*1, for a project entitled "Center for Space Equipment Development and Human Resources Development for the Industrialization of Lunar Surface Exploration and Utilization". Centered on the Ritsumeikan University Earth & Space Exploration Center (ESEC), which was established in July 2023, by establishing a research environment to reproduce the surface of the Moon and Mars and developing surface and subsurface exploration and survey technology for lunar development, we will work to revitalize space technology development in the Kansai region in collaboration with universities, research institutions, and companies*2, including the formation of industrial clusters that include non-space fields and the development of human resources to support the space industry.