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A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards,then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe,which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface,a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations,JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research,technology development and launch of satellites into orbit,and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.
SELENE,better known in Japan by its nickname Kaguya (かぐや),was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft following the Hiten probe. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA),the spacecraft was launched on September 14,2007. After orbiting the Moon for a year and eight months,the main orbiter was instructed to impact on the lunar surface near the crater Gill on June 10,2009.
A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon,including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science,or ISAS,is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets,astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Since 2003,it is a division of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024,the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight,completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface,and some have returned samples to Earth.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.
A rover is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew;others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft,tasked to collect information about the terrain,and to take crust samples such as dust,soil,rocks,and even liquids. They are essential tools in space exploration.
SELENE-2,or the Selenological and Engineering Explorer 2,is a cancelled Japanese robotic mission to the Moon that would have included an orbiter,a lander and a rover. It was intended as a successor to the 2007 SELENE (Kaguya) lunar orbiter.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites,locating potential resources on the Moon,characterizing the radiation environment,and demonstrating new technologies.
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews,Apollo 15,16,and 17. Other rovers have been partially or fully autonomous robots,such as the Soviet Union's Lunokhods,Chinese Yutus,Indian Pragyan,and Japan's LEVs. Five countries have had operating rovers on the Moon:the Soviet Union,the United States,China,India,and Japan.
The (Japanese) Lunar Exploration Program is a program of robotic and human missions to the Moon undertaken by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its division,the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). It is also one of the three major enterprises of the JAXA Space Exploration Center (JSPEC). The main goal of the program is "to elucidate the origin and evolution of the Moon and utilize the Moon in the future".
Lunar Flashlight was a low-cost CubeSat lunar orbiter mission to explore,locate,and estimate size and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon for future exploitation by robots or humans.
Lunar IceCube is a NASA nanosatellite orbiter mission that was intended to prospect,locate,and estimate amount and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon for future exploitation. It was launched as a secondary payload mission on Artemis 1,the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS),on 16 November 2022. As of February 2023 it is unknown whether NASA team has contact with satellite or not.
Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM),dubbed "Moon Sniper",was a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021 was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare,the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC,XRISM launched,and SLIM separated from it later that day.
EQUULEUS is a nanosatellite of the 6U CubeSat format that will measure the distribution of plasma that surrounds the Earth (plasmasphere) to help scientists understand the radiation environment in that region. It will also demonstrate low-thrust trajectory control techniques,such as multiple lunar flybys,within the Earth-Moon region using water steam as propellant. The spacecraft was designed and developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo.
OMOTENASHI was a small spacecraft and semi-hard lander of the 6U CubeSat format intended to demonstrate low-cost technology to land and explore the lunar surface. The CubeSat was to take measurements of the radiation environment near the Moon as well as on the lunar surface. Omotenashi is a Japanese word for "welcome" or "Hospitality".
The year 2024 is expected to exceed 2023's 223 orbital launches. So far,the year saw the successful first launch of Vulcan Centaur,Gravity-1,Ariane 6,and notably more developmental launches of SpaceX's Starship. Additionally,the final launch of a Delta family rocket occurred in April with a Delta IV Heavy. In May,China launched the Chang'e 6,the first sample return from the far side of the Moon. The Polaris Dawn mission conducted the first ever commercial spacewalk in September.
References
- ↑ Lunar-A launch delayed Space Today (March 31, 2004)
- ↑ "Japan's Moon mission in jeopardy". Associated Press. 2007-01-15. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ↑ "LUNAR-A Lunar Explorer" (PDF). JAXA. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Lunar-A". NASA NSSDCA. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
