Naoko Yamazaki was the second Japanese woman to travel to space when she made the trip to the far, far away skies in 2010. Though she has since hung up her astronaut’s helmet, she cannot wait to go back. In the meantime, Yamazaki continues to be dedicated to space, advising the Japanese government on space policy, promoting the teaching of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among youths – women, in particular – and co-founding Space Port Japan in 2018, an association which promotes the country’s aeronautics industry, with the dream to make space “accessible to everyone”.

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