Japan mulls 2018 moon landing, seeks to keep up with rivals

Source: AP-Excite

By ELAINE KURTENBACH

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's space agency is considering an unmanned mission to the moon by 2018 or early 2019, part of an effort to beef up aerospace technology and keep pace with China and other emerging powers.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, included the possibility of a lunar landing in the fiscal year that begins April 1, 2018, in its summary of moon exploration plans by Japan and other countries.

Japanese media reported Tuesday that JAXA presented the proposal to a government panel of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on Monday.

The agency still needs to win funding for the project. But it is raising hopes for a revival of space exploration. And the public broadcaster NHK showed satellite images of the Japanese islands, alit at night, and of the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, as possible attractions for passengers of space flights.

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In this artist rendering released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, Monday, April 20, 2015, the space explorer named SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) lands on the moon. Japan's space agency is considering an unmanned mission to the moon by 2018 or early 2019, part of an effort to beef up aerospace technology and keep pace with China and other emerging powers. The JAXA included the possibility of a lunar landing in the fiscal year that begins April 1, 2018, in its summary of moon exploration plans by Japan and other countries. (The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency via AP)

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