--- title: "Japan Launches Mission to the Moon" description: "Japan has, for the first time in its history, succesfully launched a mission to the Moon — and it's unlike any other we've seen before. " date: "2023-09-07" modified: "2023-09-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/japan-moon-mission" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "Japan" - "JAXA" - "lunar mission" - "the digest" --- # Japan Launches Mission to the Moon ![Japan has, for the first time in its history, succesfully launched a mission to the Moon — and it's unlike any other we've seen before. ]() *TOPSHOT - A H-IIA rocket carrying a small lunar surface probe and other objects lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Tanegashima island, Kagoshima prefecture on September 7, 2023. Japan launched on September 7 a rocket carrying what it hopes will be its first successful Moon lander, live footage from the country's space agency showed. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT (Photo by STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Slim Pickings Japan has successfully launched a mission Moonward — and raising the stakes for its attempted landing when it gets there, it's unlike any other lunar mission we've seen before. As the [*Washington Post* reports](), Japan launched its [H2-A rocket](), a small unmanned craft, from its Tanegashima Space Center this morning. The rocket is slated to enter the Moon's orbit in roughly three or four months and land on the lunar surface early in 2024. The rocket is, as the reports note, was a vehicle for two missions: one to launch a lightweight telescope, which successfully separated from the rocket soon after its takeoff this morning, and another to land on the Moon to establish a base for future missions. That second half concerns the [Smart Lander for Investigating Moon]() or SLIM, a hyper-precise lander that has also been given the nickname "moon sniper" for its purported ability to pinpoint its target location within 328 feet or 100 meters, as opposed to traditional landers, which require a berth several or miles kilometers wide. "Pinpoint landing technology is being tried by some in the world, so the competition is going to be fierce," Shinichiro Sakai, the project manager for the Japanese space agency JAXA, told reporters back in June per the *Post*. "But as far as we know, SLIM will be the first in the world." ## Failure to Launch Japan's launch of its Moon mission comes just weeks after [India successfully landed its first spacecraft there](). Like [India](), Japan's lunar missions have also faced significant setbacks in the past. As *WaPo* notes, the country's Epsilon-6 rocket failed last October [due to an altitude control](), leading ground control to instruct the craft to self-destruct less than 10 minutes after liftoff. In 2023, the country's lunar program suffered even more failures. In March, another rocket, the H-3, was also [forced to self-destruct]() after its second-stage engine failed to ignite, and in July, another [Epsilon series rocket engine exploded]() during a second-stage test as well. To add insult to injury, an April attempt by a Japanese startup called ispace, which had been hoping to conduct the world's first entirely-private moon landing, [*also* failed]() after losing communication with its unmanned lander. It's clearly been a rough year for Japanese spacefaring, which makes the successful liftoff of the SLIM lander all the more exciting as it prepares to enter the elite squad of nations who've landed on the Moon. More on Moon maneuvers: [*Russia Says It's Actually Good That Its Lander Crashed Into the Moon and Blew Up*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()