Japan steps up bid to land man on Moon and Mars as it prepares to launch unmanned probe
JAPAN hopes to become the fourth nation to land a craft on the Moon and aims to pave the way for manned missions to Mars.
The country`s Aerospace Exploration Agency revealed yesterday it hopes to launch the unmanned probe in 2018.
An agency spokesman said: "This is an initial step and a lot of procedures are still ahead before the plan is formally approved."
The agency has briefed a state panel to secure the £5billion to £8billion budget needed for the project.
The mission’s main objective is to collect data in order to create technology that would make it possible to conduct soft landings with a high level of accuracy.
This is an initial step and a lot of procedures are still ahead before the plan is formally approved
Officials said this data will be used in preparation for a manned mission to the Moon and Mars in the future.
The Japanese Lunar Exploration Program began in 2007 with the launch of the Selenological and Engineering Explorer, which enabled scientists to explore the Moon`s surface in closer detail until October 2008.
If successful, Japan will be the fourth country to send an unmanned probe to the moon after Russia, the United States and China.
The last mission was 2013 when a Chinese probe made the first ever soft landing on the moon in nearly 40 years. It was launched to test the technology that would be used in China`s next lunar probe expected in 2017.
