To boldly go where no toy has gone before

Japan's landing of a Transformer on the moon signals a new frontier for soft power: space.

To commemorate Japan’s historic first moon landing earlier this week, I’m re-releasing an essay from four months ago, when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched its rocket to the moon. The essay has been updated with new information throughout.

A photograph of Japan’s SLIM lunar lander, photographed by SORA-Q

On August 23rd of 2023, India became…