Koichi Wakata was selected as an astronaut candidate by the National Space Development Agency of Japan in April 1992. He served as Astronaut Group Leader of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from April 2010 to July 2012. In October 2000, Koichi Wakata became the first Japanese astronaut to participate in the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) on STS-92. In July 2006, he was commander of the tenth National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO). From March to July 2009, Koichi Wakata was the first ISS resident crew member from Japan, and served as Flight Engineer and JAXA Science Officer on the crews of Expeditions 18, 19 and 20, as well as Mission Specialist for STS-119 and STS-127. From November 7, 2013 to May 14, 2014, Koichi Wakata made his fourth space flight and served as Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-11M and ISS Expedition 38, as well as ISS Commander for Expedition 39. On March 9, 2014, he became the first Japanese ISS commander. He spent 347 days 8 hours 33 minutes in space covering four missions, setting a record in the history of Japanese spaceflight.

Space exploration by crews, whether within space habitats or on the surface of celestial bodies, relies on a combination of technological, cognitive and sensory inputs. These explorers find themselves in unusual environments and must carry out numerous and difficult tasks. Whether in a pressurized habitat or in a space suit for external activities, sensory integration within the brain plays a crucial role. For example, vision identifies references; proprioception gives an idea of the body’s attitude in space; in a pressurized habitat, hearing provides complementary signals. To carry out tasks, movements, trips, everyone constructs a mental map which is necessary to direct the action or plan a route. Orientation and control of movements rely on these mental representations and on navigation based on memory. All these processes require a very high level of integration, based on solid connections between sensors. Several technological tools are now available to improve this “awareness of space” whether they are navigation and location systems, vision enhancers (head up display, night glasses) or autonomous companions (drones, rovers). These tools provide new channels to improve situational awareness and improve physical or virtual exploration of new, unknown, inaccessible to humans or dangerous locations. Beyond these technical aspects, the connections of astronauts within the crews, the connections with the control centers and the ground controllers are all crucial enablers for life in or the exploration of space. These interconnected elements work together to enable space exploration. As with astronauts, many technical tools are now new partners in our daily terrestrial life, whether it is navigating in a new terrestrial environment or helping lay people to accomplish several daily tasks.