Ritsumeikan University Selected as a Space Strategy Fund SX Research and Development Site
Developing Technology to Reproduce Lunar and Martian Surface Environments and Cultivating Human Resources for the Space Industry
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.
Amid intensifying international competition in the space industry, JAXA established SX Research and Development Site as one of its technology development themes under the Space Strategy Fund with the aim of forming space industry clusters at a level exceeding that of JAXA, creating sustainable innovation, and ensuring Japan’s competitiveness. Under this project, universities and other research institutions with cutting-edge technologies in the space field and usable technologies in non-space fields are expected to play central roles in implementing strategic plans to produce innovative R&D outcomes that can be practically applied in the real world.
The SX Research and Development Site at Ritsumeikan aims to produce a wide range of players for the industrialization of lunar surface exploration and utilization and to establish an easy-to-understand and easy-to-use center in the Kansai region that can serve as an R&D cluster hub. In order to evolve lunar development from the conceptual phase to the concrete planning phase, we believe that in-situ lunar exploration, which cannot be achieved with remote sensing data alone, is essential and will be the key to expanding to the Moon. Ritsumeikan will install the Japanese version of dust testing facilities, which consist of a dust testing chamber, a regolith analyzer, lunar surface simulation field sites, and a lunar surface integrated simulation platform, and develop a core sampler, borehole probe, and regolith TG-DTA, which are technologies to explore and survey the surface and subsurface of the Moon in support of lunar surface development We will also function as a hub for the formation of an industrial cluster and the development of human resources by providing these research facilities and development know-how to companies, universities, and engineers, including those in non-space fields (see attachment for details of the initiatives). The project period is scheduled to run until March 31, 2032. * 3
*1: Supplementary budget for FY2023
*2: Planned partner institutions: University of Tokyo, Shimadzu Corporation, University of Aizu, Okayama University, Keio University, National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Yokohama National University
*3: The initial contract period runs from the contract date until the end of the fiscal year that includes the day on which the first mid-term evaluation concludes (approximately 3 years after commencement).
Comment from President Yoshio Nakatani
It is a great honor that Ritsumeikan University was selected as an SX Research and Development Site under JAXA’s Space Strategy Fund. Ritsumeikan aims to become a next-generation research university that creates social impact by solving the issues that human society must tackle today from the perspective of what shape the future should take. In consideration that space is an important research area, we established ESEC in July 2023. It is a research center with more than 30 experts working on a range of initiatives including the development of infrastructure technology, team management technology, and space law necessary for expanding the boundaries of human habitation on the Moon, other planets, and Earth, as well as the construction of future habitats and living areas.
With our selection for this project, we will take on the challenge of creating an era in which humans can live in space in collaboration with a diverse array of partners willing to forge into new frontiers.
Comment from ESEC Director Kazuto Saiki (Principal Investigator)
In an era when the humanosphere is expanding to include the lunar surface and Mars, I am deeply grateful for the recognition that our clear vision answers the question of what actions should be initiated immediately. With our selection for this project, we aim to establish a hub to comprehensively advance lunar subsurface exploration and surveys, and, through our endeavors, we will widely disseminate our steadfast and forward-looking vision for lunar development, thereby contributing to humanity’s expansion into space.
Comment from Pro Vice President and ESEC Research Advisor Soichi Noguchi
Now that we have been selected as an SX Research and Development Site, looking toward the industrialization of the lunar surface, we aim to form a new R&D cluster by bringing together a wide range of borderless players in science and engineering transcending the barriers between space and non-space fields to broaden the horizons of engineers and to create innovation. We will contribute to strengthening Japan's international competitiveness in the space field by developing technologies on the lunar and Martian surfaces and cultivating human resources for the space industry.
Towards Realization of Human Activity on the Moon
