Japan Postpones ‘Moon Sniper’ Rocket Launch Carrying NASA 2p2q4g ESA-Made Satellite, for Third Time

The "Moon Sniper" is so called because JAXA is aiming to land it within 100 metres (330 feet) of a specific target on the Moon. 10b3n

By Agence -Presse | Updated: 28 August 2023 10:12 IST

Japan Postpones ‘Moon Sniper’ Rocket Launch Carrying NASA, ESA-Made Satellite, for Third Time

Photo Credit: ISRO 602i4u

Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter photographs Chandrayaan-3 Lander

Highlights

Japan has also tried before, attempting last year to land a lunar probe
Last week India landed Chandrayaan 3 near the Moon's south pole
India's success came days after a Russian probe crashed

ment

Japan's space agency on Monday postponed for the third time the launch of its "Moon Sniper" lunar mission due to poor weather.

The H2-A rocket due to blast off from the southern island of Tanegashima was also carrying a research satellite developed with European Space Agency.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Moon last week.

Chandrayaan-3 Touchdown Spot on Lunar Surface Named as Shiva Shakti Point

MHI Launch Services, the rocket co-developer, said on the social media platform X that the mission was called off "because it was confirmed that the upper wind does not satisfy the constraints at launch".

Last week India landed a craft near the Moon's south pole, a historic triumph for the world's most populous nation and its low-cost space programme.

Previously, only the United States, Russia and China had managed to put a spacecraft on the lunar surface, and none on the south pole.

After Chandrayaan-3 Success, ISRO Next Plans to Launch Aditya-L1 to Study Sun

India's success came days after a Russian probe crashed in the same region, and four years after a previous Indian attempt failed at the last moment.

Japan has also tried before, attempting last year to land a lunar probe named Omotenashi, carried on NASA's Artemis 1, but the mission went wrong and communications were lost.

In April, Japanese start-up ispace failed in an ambitious attempt to become the first private company to land on the Moon, losing communication after what the firm called a "hard landing".

Chandrayaan-3's 'Pragyan' Rover Rolls Down to Lunar Surface from Lander: Watch Here

The "Moon Sniper" is so called because JAXA is aiming to land it within 100 metres (330 feet) of a specific target on the Moon, far less than the usual range of several kilometres.

Japan has also had problems with launch rockets, with failures after liftoff of the next-generation H3 model in March and the normally reliable solid-fuel Epsilon the previous October.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.