Japan to moon mission?

I'm still dubiety whether human being can travel to moon like what U.S was done before, which U.S claims that they were succeed to land their astronouts like Neil Amstrong and their collegues for the first time on the surface of the moon. The distance between our earth's surface to moon is 237,500 miles, a journey that is expected to take about three weeks. If U.S claimed was true, so why they can't take a new journey to other planets? Ok, we let this history goes by its way and we focus for the other countries which running to explore a new dimension of space.

The news from Japan more convincing which they were make it to launch the biggest lunar mission since the US pollo flights 40 years ago. It was launched at Tanegashima island, aboard a H-2A solid-fuel rocket. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the probe's engines and navigation equipment appeared to be working normally. The craft - nicknamed Kaguya after the moon princess in a Japanese fairy tale - is scheduled to twice orbit Earth before travelling 237,500 miles to the moon, a journey that is expected to take about three weeks.

In the mission, which Jaxa described as the largest in scope since Nasa's Apollo programme, Kaguya's main satellite will go into orbit about 60 miles above the moon's surface, and two smaller satellites will be put into polar orbit. The probes will collect data that Japanese scientists hope will settle the long-running debate over the moon's origins and evolution. The orbiter, which is carrying 14 state-of-the-art pieces of equipment, will map previously unexplored polar areas, and a high-definition TV will send back what scientists believe will be dramatic images of the moon and of the Earth as it rises over the moon's horizon.

China also plans to send its Chang's probe to the moon later this year, which will use stereo cameras and spectrometers to construct 3-D images of the moon's surface and analse its dust. Chinese space officials plan to collect samples of dust in subsequent expeditions and reportedly hope to put a man on the moon in the next 15 years.

India, meanwhile, is expected to launch its unmanned Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter next year and may follow up with a manned expedition by 2020.

We hope from this space exploration will give a hope for human being to understand our galaxy better and utilized its to our own good.

Source : Guardian