Living in Space Not Far Off – Astronaut Mukai

When a Japanese such as Astronaut Mukai says that living in space is not that far off one must consider the context.

Astronaut Chiaki Mukai has assumed the post of the head of Japan's space agency biomedical laboratory.

"It will be not long before we usher in an age when human beings can live and work in space. I'd like to dedicate myself to medical research that can contribute to the world, eyeing future manned expeditions to the moon and Mars."

I once drove across Japan with my then father in law. It took us some 10 hours to get almost to our destination.

He said, 'we're almost there.'

My relief was disappointed when the final leg of our trip was a 10k (6 mile) portion that took 1.5 hours.

Later I learned that after traveling for 10 hours, 1.5 hours means almost.

After traveling for 300 km, 10km is almost….

Japan is more than 1,000 years old….so, how long is not far off, I wonder?

Another 100 years maybe?