Hoshide told the network, "There will be astronauts from four countries while I’m in space, and we’re all looking forward to the Olympics." He also described his experience with extravehicular activity. "My mind is totally in work mode during such activity," he said. "But there are instances when I would look at Earth or space. There’s nothing that comes between me and Earth or space in front of my eyes. Such sceneries were so beautiful that I wanted to monopolize time."

Hoshide will be flying to space for the third time. He will be the second Japanese commander of the ISS after Koichi Wakata in 2014.