<p>Japan's space agency JAXA named its first new astronaut candidates in over 13 years on Tuesday, with a surgeon and a climate scientist chosen from more than 4,000 applicants.</p>.<p>Ayu Yoneda, a 28-year-old surgeon for Tokyo's Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, will become just the third woman ever to join the space training programme. Japan's six current astronauts are all men.</p>.<p>She will be joined by Makoto Suwa, 46, a senior disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank, who made the cut after an unsuccessful first application more than a decade ago.</p>.<p>Yoneda said she was "elated and surprised" to learn she had been chosen.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/spacex-set-to-launch-next-iss-crew-for-nasa-1195419.html" target="_blank">SpaceX set to launch next ISS crew for NASA</a></strong></p>.<p>"I felt a sense of responsibility and mission," she told reporters.</p>.<p>Suwa, speaking by video from the United States, said he was "so excited that I haven't been able to sleep".</p>.<p>The pair, chosen from 4,127 applicants, will now begin a two-year training programme and, if successful, could join International Space Station missions and become the first Japanese astronauts to reach the Moon.</p>.<p>Japan and the United States announced last year that they would cooperate on a plan to put a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface by the end of the decade.</p>.<p>Suwa grew up in Tsukuba, a city that hosts several research institutes and JAXA facilities.</p>.<p>An expert in ancient climates, he hopes to learn about how the climate of Mars evolved.</p>.<p>"By learning about the Moon, by learning about Mars, we not only learn about those celestial bodies themselves but also we learn about our planet," he said.</p>.<p>Yoneda's dreams of becoming an astronaut were fuelled by a manga comic about Japan's first woman astronaut, Chiaki Mukai, who was also a surgeon.</p>.<p>She hopes to study how space travel impacts human health.</p>.<p>"We will see an era where many people will go to space. The duration and distance of those stays will become extended," she said.</p>.<p>"As a physician, I believe I can do my part to learn about what happens to human bodies in space."</p>.<p>In 2021, JAXA lifted its requirement for astronaut candidates to have advanced scientific or engineering degrees, and recent applicants included sales agents and consultants.</p>.<p>JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said he hoped to do another round of recruitment in around five years and to find astronauts who can bring space programmes closer to the public.</p>.<p>"The responsibility of astronauts will not just change but it will expand," Yamakawa said. "It's important that we continue the policy of accepting applications from diverse people."</p>
<p>Japan's space agency JAXA named its first new astronaut candidates in over 13 years on Tuesday, with a surgeon and a climate scientist chosen from more than 4,000 applicants.</p>.<p>Ayu Yoneda, a 28-year-old surgeon for Tokyo's Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, will become just the third woman ever to join the space training programme. Japan's six current astronauts are all men.</p>.<p>She will be joined by Makoto Suwa, 46, a senior disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank, who made the cut after an unsuccessful first application more than a decade ago.</p>.<p>Yoneda said she was "elated and surprised" to learn she had been chosen.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/spacex-set-to-launch-next-iss-crew-for-nasa-1195419.html" target="_blank">SpaceX set to launch next ISS crew for NASA</a></strong></p>.<p>"I felt a sense of responsibility and mission," she told reporters.</p>.<p>Suwa, speaking by video from the United States, said he was "so excited that I haven't been able to sleep".</p>.<p>The pair, chosen from 4,127 applicants, will now begin a two-year training programme and, if successful, could join International Space Station missions and become the first Japanese astronauts to reach the Moon.</p>.<p>Japan and the United States announced last year that they would cooperate on a plan to put a Japanese astronaut on the lunar surface by the end of the decade.</p>.<p>Suwa grew up in Tsukuba, a city that hosts several research institutes and JAXA facilities.</p>.<p>An expert in ancient climates, he hopes to learn about how the climate of Mars evolved.</p>.<p>"By learning about the Moon, by learning about Mars, we not only learn about those celestial bodies themselves but also we learn about our planet," he said.</p>.<p>Yoneda's dreams of becoming an astronaut were fuelled by a manga comic about Japan's first woman astronaut, Chiaki Mukai, who was also a surgeon.</p>.<p>She hopes to study how space travel impacts human health.</p>.<p>"We will see an era where many people will go to space. The duration and distance of those stays will become extended," she said.</p>.<p>"As a physician, I believe I can do my part to learn about what happens to human bodies in space."</p>.<p>In 2021, JAXA lifted its requirement for astronaut candidates to have advanced scientific or engineering degrees, and recent applicants included sales agents and consultants.</p>.<p>JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said he hoped to do another round of recruitment in around five years and to find astronauts who can bring space programmes closer to the public.</p>.<p>"The responsibility of astronauts will not just change but it will expand," Yamakawa said. "It's important that we continue the policy of accepting applications from diverse people."</p>