Within 20 years, according to an Asahi.com article, Japanese robots may be mining the moon while astronauts ride a Japanese space shuttle to orbit and back. This is all part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) long-range plan for putting Japan into space while taking advantage of Japan's lead in robotics and AI technology. In the near term, JAXA is developing an unmanned transport vehicle that will deliver supplies to the International Space Station.