To the moon: Japan makes a new attempt Russia fires at marketplace: 16 dead, including child + London wants to ban Wagner

Japan also wants to send a probe to the moon. A Japanese launcher of the type H2A will take off on Thursday from Japan’s spaceport Tanegashima on the island of the same name in the southwest of the country, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries group announced Monday.

The rocket launch was previously postponed several times due to bad weather conditions. The rocket carries the SLIM lunar lander, developed by Japan’s Jaxa space agency, to test technologies for accurate landings on the lunar surface. If successful, Japan would become the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on Earth’s satellite after the former Soviet Union, the US, China and India.

India was only able to do this a few days ago after a Russian space probe crashed into the moon. Japan plans to launch SLIM into lunar orbit about three to four months after launch and try to reach the lunar surface within four to six months. The data Japan collects on the moon will be used as part of the US-led Artemis project, which aims to return humans to the moon and advance lunar exploration by 2025. The broader goal is human exploration of Mars.

Japan, looking to firmly establish itself in the lucrative satellite launch market, had endured several setbacks this year, including a false launch of a next-generation H3 missile. (sda/dpa)