Japan to send robot to moon

Japan is considering putting a robot on the moon by 2020 and an astronaut by 2030, a report from a government office showed on Friday, amid fears that the country will be left behind in Asia's space race.

The plans follow China's first space walk and India's launch of their first unmanned moon mission last year. Beijing officials have said that China is looking to eventually put astronauts on the moon, though the government has not revealed any schedule.

The robot and the astronaut would probe the moon to see how its resources could be used, the report showed. A space development panel also discussed on Friday the possibility of Japan eventually starting its own manned space program, a government official said.

"Some experts are concerned that unless there is an independent program, then Japan may be left behind in terms of space development," said an official from the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy (SHSP), under the Cabinet Office.

"If large scale space development projects, such as moon probes or space solar power system, are conducted, not only robots but also people will have to be there. The technology of manned space programs will certainly become the foundation in such cases," he said.

Japan's space program was in tatters in the late 1990s and early 2000s after unsuccessful rocket launches, but it successfully launched its first lunar explorer in 2007. It has sent six astronauts to space, all through international missions.

The Soviet Union, United States and China are the only countries that have put people in space with their own rockets.

Amid worries about a regional space race and North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, Japan introduced a new space law last year that allows military use of space, ending a decades-old pacifist policy.

The law, which allows the military to launch its own satellites for spying and warn of missile launches but rules out offensive weapons in space, opened ways for the nation's space industry to compete globally.

SHSP is set to announce in May its first comprehensive space strategy that will include ideas for military and diplomatic use of space, the official said.

While SHSP was founded last year to oversee the comprehensive space strategy, Japan's space program has been led for years by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

JAXA runs on an annual budget of 228 billion yen ($2.3 billion), just a fraction of NASA's $17 billion annual spending.

Japan unveils new space rocket

Japan's space agency and industrial giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) last week unveiled the H-2B rocket's body to a group of reporters, but only after submitting them to a rigorous procedure of finger-printing, an air shower to remove all dust and a requirement to wear chemical suits.

"We expect to make a trial launch toward the middle of this year if all the manufacturing and intermediary steps proceed well," said Tomihisa Nakamura, a researcher who heads the project at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The H-2B -- designed to take supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) and launch satellites -- is more imposing than its predecessor, the H-2A.

When it is ready, the H-2B is expected to be 56 meters (185 feet) tall, three meters more than its sister rocket. The rocket is 5.2 meters wide -- compared to four meters for the H-2A -- weighs 530 tonnes, and is equipped with two engines and four auxiliary propellers or "boosters."

The H-2B is initially intended to bring supplies of up to six tonnes per year via an unmanned HTV spacecraft, or "H-2 Transfer Vehicle," to the International Space Station.

The enormous pieces making up the new rocket are currently laid out horizontally in the hermetic hangars of MHI's vast space development site in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.

The H-2B is expected to be able to release an HTV weighing up to 16.5 tonnes into orbit as well as satellites with a combined weight of eight tonnes. These abilities are necessary to compete well internationally.

In addition to developing Japan's space programme, the H-2B was designed to boost MHI's competitiveness against well-known launch services such as Europe's Ariane, and Sea Launch operated by US-based Boeing.

Including the costs of developing and producing the first model, Japan's space agency and the MHI are expected to invest yen 40 billion (USD 444 million).

"The design costs are small compared to those of the H-2A, of an Ariane or another launcher, because we are reusing a lot of elements and knowledge gained from the H-2A. That also minimises the risks," said JAXA's Nakamura.

"Meanwhile we used manufacturing procedures that are new and more efficient," underlined Tomohiko Goto, who heads the project under MHI. Officials hope that a series of successful launches will boost the rocket's reputation -- and that of MHI -- in Japan and abroad.

But the company last month signed a deal with South Korea to launch the multi-purpose Arirang 3 satellite in 2011 using the H-2A, which would be the first commercial order for a Japanese-made rocket.

Up until now, the H-2A listed nine successful launches in a row since 2005, recovering from a blow in late 2003 when it failed its sixth mission -- an accident that delayed its goal of being an international player.

Japan launches greenhouse-gas monitoring satellite ‘IBUKI’

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite "IBUKI" (GOSAT) along with 7 smaller satellites aboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15 (H-IIA F15) at 12:54:00 p.m. on January, 23, 2009 from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The main satellite will enable scientists to calculate the density of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth's surface, which Japanese officials hope will contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change.

Japan is one of the leading space-faring nations and launched its first satellite in 1970. The mission is also a test for Japan as it sets its sights on the satellite-launch business in the face of competition from Europe, USA and Russia, China and India.