At World Expo 2025, U.S. reveals future of space exploration

At the World Expo in Osaka in 1970, thousands packed the USA Pavilion each day to glimpse a moon rock from NASA’s Apollo missions. Fifty-five years later, as the expo returns to Osaka, the United States is showcasing technologies that will use lunar dust and rocks to build landing pads and other structures to support a sustained human presence there.

The USA Pavilion at World Expo 2025 highlights American space exploration and the innovations that will support NASA’s Artemis missions to return to the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. (The missions are a result of the Artemis Accords, a set of guiding principles for future space exploration.)

NASA is collaborating with businesses and nations to learn how humans can live on the moon. The USA Pavilion exhibit includes replicas of the 3D printer Olympus that will turn moon rocks into construction material suitable for the moon and of the NASA Space Launch System rocket that will power future missions.

“We’ll never have a moon base if [we have to] bring everything with us,” Jason Ballard, co-founder of ICON, the Texas-based company developing Olympus with NASA and the Defense Department, told CBS News. “If we want to stay, we have to learn to live off the land.” NASA’s Artemis III mission to return astronauts to the moon is scheduled to launch in 2027.

The USA Pavilion’s space exhibit also includes dazzling images from the James Webb Telescope — the world’s largest — that has delivered scientists insights into faraway galaxies. The telescope can help researchers detect whether conditions that could support life exist on other planets. In April, scientists using the telescope detected chemicals suggestive of life on a planet that is light years away but cautioned further study is needed.

The USA Pavilion invites visitors to “imagine what we can create together.” In addition to space, exhibits highlight U.S. leadership in agricultural technology and medicine and travel/exchange opportunities in the United States. Eighty-nine youth ambassadors, representing 45 U.S. states and fluent in a combined 20 languages, serve as greeters and guides.

Also awaiting visitors is a recorded message from Japanese-born Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani. A shared love of baseball is one way the U.S. and Japan maintain a close relationship. MLB opened the 2025 season in Tokyo, with Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers taking on the Chicago Cubs.

The U.S. and Japan are signatories to the Artemis Accords and are exploring space together. Japan is developing a pressurized rover to accommodate two Artemis astronauts for 30 days, expanding their ability to explore the moon.

“The 31,000-square-foot USA Pavilion showcases American excellence, innovation, and leadership, and reinforces our commitment to engagement in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Japan bilateral relationship,” State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

To learn more about Expo 2025, visit the USA Pavilion website.