Meet an astronaut training for a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. As a child, a photograph of Earth known as ‘The Blue Marble’ sparked jaxaastromakotosuwa’s dream of becoming an astronaut and seeing our planet from above. After a career in international civil service—including WMO—he has now realized that dream as a jaxajp astronaut and is preparing for his journey into space. In his upcoming mission, Makoto aims to deepen our understanding of Earth and help close critical gaps in global observations. “During my training and mission, I look forward to continuing our collaboration and sharing the story of human space exploration through various channels. I firmly believe that space exploration can and will benefit life on Earth—including by strengthening our ability to observe our planet today and help protect tomorrow,” said Makoto. Space-based observations play a vital role in weather monitoring and forecasting, supporting #EarlyWarnings and tracking g...