Makoto Suwa
JAXA astronaut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Makoto Suwa (Japanese: 諏訪 理, Hepburn: Suwa Makoto; born 1977 in Tokyo) is a Japanese climate scientist and astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Makoto Suwa | |
|---|---|
| 諏訪 理 | |
| Born | 1977 (age 48–49) Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | |
| Space career | |
| JAXA astronaut | |
Previous occupation | Climate scientist, World Bank |
| Selection | 2023 JAXA Group |
Early life
Suwa was born in Tokyo in 1977 and grew up in Tsukuba, Ibaraki.[1][2][3] At a young age he visited the Expo 85 held at Tsukuba.[4] While in elementary school he travelled to NASA where he met Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan.[2][5]
Education and career
Suwa graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1999. He received a Ph.D. in climate science from Princeton University, and a master of environment management degree from Duke University.[6][2] In 2008 he joined the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and was dispatched to Rwanda, where he served as a lecturer at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.[7][6] He then worked for the World Meteorological Organization, both at its Geneva headquarters and Office for Eastern and Southern Africa at Nairobi, Kenya.[6] From 2014 he worked at the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery; at the time of his astronaut selection he held the role of Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist.[7][8]
On 28 February 2022, JAXA selected Suwa as an astronaut candidate alongside Ayu Yoneda.[2] Chosen at the age of 46, he is the oldest JAXA astronaut candidate at the time of selection.[4][5] He completed basic training and was certified for flight by JAXA on October 21, 2024.[9]
In September 2025, Suwa participated in the ESA CAVES 2025 course held in the Matese mountains in the Italian Apennines.[citation needed]
On 9 January 2025, JAXA announced that Suwa would be assigned to a long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2027.[10]