Professor Utsumi: I am researching in the field of aerospace systems engineering, and Professor Arimura is researching in the field of urban transportation design, but these two are connected by the keyword "mobile bodies." Until now, whether by car, train, or on foot, people have moved two-dimensionally on the surface of the Earth.
Then, in the 20th century, the next step for humans was to shift to three-dimensional vehicles such as airplanes and spaceships. In 2020, SpaceX, a private American space development company founded by Elon Musk, achieved manned travel to the space station using its own rockets.
In this way, in another 10 or 20 years, space passenger planes and space planes will be realized and developed, and space will become casual. We will be having honeymoons on Mars, and undergoing physical therapy in a gravity-free environment where the body is not under stress. The country is also seriously discussing how to expand the use of space and what to do about space transportation in the future.
In the midst of this, Muro Tech opened the "Muro Tech Aerospace Plane Systems Research Center Satellite Office" in Taiki Town in October 2020. We expect that this will accelerate the development of space rockets in collaboration with Interstellar Technologies Inc., founded by Takafumi Horie, as well as experiments related to small supersonic aircraft.

Professor Arimura: In terms of surface mobility, there have been recent global attempts to integrate services such as reservations and payments across various transportation operators, such as taxis, buses, and LRT, known as MaaS (Mobility as a Service).
In recent years, advances in ICT have also led to the shift to self-driving vehicles. In 2019, Taiki Town worked with the national and local governments to conduct a long-term demonstration experiment in which townspeople actually used a self-driving bus service. If this becomes a reality, it will not only help alleviate the shortage of drivers caused by their aging, but also expand the space for people to move around by connecting to other means of transportation such as intercity buses.
However, autonomous driving is only possible with the aid of satellites that provide location information, so this is where Professor Utsumi's work in the rocket field becomes necessary. A demonstration experiment of autonomous driving was conducted in Taiki Town, and in the future, it will be seamlessly connected to rockets and other means of transportation in space in terms of mobility. This is where the two are linked through the theme of "space connection."

Professor Utsumi: I am researching rocket engines, and in particular, I think that the systematic research and development of rocket turbopumps, which are a typical example of high-speed turbomachinery, is unique for a university.
We also recently announced an opportunity to demonstrate technology to deploy and measure ultra-small satellites in space, which, if successful, will be a world first. I believe that we need to disseminate such world-first technologies from Japan in the future.
Hokkaido also has vast land, making it an ideal environment for aerospace-related research and development and flight demonstrations. We would like to take advantage of these characteristics to conduct research and development with an eye toward the actual aircraft and social implementation. We would like to actively conduct joint research with private companies and others, and create innovative things from this place.
We hope to launch an artificial satellite made in Hokkaido, using a rocket developed in Hokkaido, from Hokkaido, for the people of Hokkaido. This is a launch project for a Hokkaido citizen's satellite, a Hokkaido-born satellite, that will be completed entirely in Hokkaido.