Japan’s newest female astronaut wants to speak Japanese on the moon

Ever since Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969, every word broadcast from the lunar surface has been spoken in English.

Ayu Yoneda, the Japanese space agency’s youngest astronaut at 31, envisions a different future.

“If I’m able to go to the moon, I want to share my thoughts in Japanese,” she said in an interview with The Japan Times. “I believe English is the only language that’s ever been spoken there, but I want to speak in Japanese, too — to connect with people at home and anyone around the world who speaks or is learning our language.”