Document Uchu Hiko Shi Sembatsu Shiken (Kobunsha Shinsho)

[Machine Translation] In February 2008, JAXA, Japan's space research and development agency, announced the first call for astronauts in Japan in 10 years. The number of applicants was the largest in history. The selection test itself was the most difficult and intense in history. This book is a documentary by NHK staff, who were the first in Japan to be allowed to cover the selection test and also to closely observe the entire process of the final test, which was narrowed down to 10 candidates. The film closely follows what the 10 candidates thought, said, and did under the special circumstances of the closed environment in which they were placed. What kind of profession is it to be an astronaut who risks his own life and the lives of other crew members in the extreme environment of space? This film explores the qualities and human power of astronauts.

2008年2月、日本で10年ぶりとなる宇宙飛行士の募集が、日本の宇宙研究・開発を担うJAXAによって発表された。応募総数は史上最多。そして、選抜試験自体も最難関で熾烈を極めるものとなった。本書は、この選抜試験の取材を日本で初めて許され、さらに候補者10人に絞られた最終試験では一部始終に密着することに成功した、NHKの番組スタッフによるドキュメンタリー。その10人がおかれた閉鎖環境という特殊な状況下で、彼らは何を考え、語り、行動したのかをつぶさに追ってゆく。宇宙という極限の環境において自らの命を賭け、かつ他の乗組員の命をも預かる宇宙飛行士とはどういう職業なのか。その資質と人間力に迫る。