Japan, China in a race to the moon with upcoming launches

[Sinosphere]

Japan claims its project is the biggest since the Apollo missions put the first humans on the moon. China, hoping to pave the way for its own manned missions, says its probes will study the lunar surface to help plan a landing.

But the big question right now is not about science — it's who will get there first.

With Asia's biggest powers set to launch moon missions, possibly as early as next month, the countdown is on in the hottest space race since the Cold War.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said earlier this month itsSELENE lunar satellite is on track for a Sept. 13 launch, following years of delay as engineers struggled to fix a slew of mechanical problems. China, meanwhile, is rumored to be planning a September launch for its Chang'e 1 probe but is being coy about the exact date.

Both sides say all systems are go.

The Chinese satellite and its Changzheng 3 rocket carrier have passed all tests, and construction of the launch site is finished, according to China's National Space Administration's Web site. Last month, the minister of defense technology said in a TV interview that all was ready for a launch "by the end of the year."

Officials in the two countries have tried to play down the importance of beating each other off the pad, but their regional rivalry is never far below the surface.

"I don't want to make this an issue of win or lose. But I believe whoever launches first, Japan's mission is technologically superior," said JAXA official Yasunori Motogawa. "We'll see which mission leads to the scientific breakthroughs."

China's military-run space program has taken a great leap forward in recent years, and Beijing sent shock waves through the region in 2003 when it became the first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space.

China also raised eyebrows when it blasted an old satellite into oblivion with a land-based antisatellite missile, the first such test ever conducted by any nation, including the U.S. and Russia.

But Japan has stayed close on China's heels.

After a decade of work, the government in February completed a network of four spy satellites that can monitor any spot on the globe, every day — a program spurred by the 1998 North Korean test of a Taepodong ballistic missile, which flew over Honshu and into the Pacific.

One of the spy satellites has since failed, however, throwing the network's effectiveness into doubt. Still, the government spends about ¥60 billion a year on spy satellites.

Regional powers India, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan all have satellites in orbit. North Korea claims to have sent one up with its 1998 ballistic missile launch and to have used it to broadcast hymns about its leader, Kim Jong Il. The claim has never been substantiated.

But the planned lunar missions by China and Japan are among the most ambitious space programs yet.

JAXA officials have said their ¥32 billion SELENE project is the largest lunar mission since the U.S. Apollo program in terms of overall scope and ambition, outpacing the former Soviet Union's Luna program and NASA's Clementine and Lunar Prospector projects.

SELENE involves placing a main satellite in orbit around the moon and deploying the two smaller satellites in polar orbits to study the moon's origin and evolution. Japan launched a lunar probe in 1990, but that was a flyby mission, unlike SELENE, which is intended to orbit the moon.

China's Chang'e 1 orbiter will use stereo cameras and X-ray spectrometers to map three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, and to study its dust. The country has already spent 1.4 billion yuan ($185 million) on the undertaking, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Beijing hopes to retrieve samples from the moon in later missions, according to the project's Web page, and Xinhua has reported that a manned probe could come within 15 years. Japan is also considering a manned mission by 2025.

"It's the race for the South Pole, all over again," said Hideo Nagasu, former research head of JAXA's predecessor organization, the National Aerospace Laboratory.

"In the interest of furthering Asia's space technology, cooperating would be the best option. But I don't think either side wants to do that just yet."

By HIROKO TABUCHI

Japan Times News.

[Sinosphere]

Good luck to China and Japan and their respective programs. Hope it would be a successful mission for the two nations.

[masguy]

nice article.if i'm not mistaken a few month ago the JAXA said they want to cancel this program but glad the rumour is not true.actually this kind of scientific rivalry thingy is really good for both countries.

[KMS_Tripitz]

Would be good to see both nations investing in space instead of the military along with the US and Europe. We could be headed for a new great space race in the comming years, and we need it to spur exploration and missions to mars and beyond. God luck to all.

[BornB4]

They say when the US went to the Moon that Armstrong was warned off. This would be interesting. i doubt they'll make it though.

[Behrooz Boonabi]

It would be really cool to be the first to put a man on the moon

[Dolphin]

Good luck to China and Japan and their respective programs. Hope it would be a successful mission for the two nations.

Likewise! I'm in favor of peaceful exploration of the universe by any and all.

[Kiaar]

It would be really cool to be the first to put a man on the moon

Yes, it is really cool that my country put the first man on the moon :)

I wonder if the second will be China, Japan, or Russia.

[daddy]

USSR was the first to send humans outside, to space. well that's a major milestone, minor ones like reaching earth's natural satellite is a tip of the iceberg as they say

[Kiaar]

USSR was the first to send humans outside, to space. well that's a major milestone, minor ones like reaching earth's natural satellite is a tip of the iceberg as they say

Lol, come on. This is as pathetic an attempt as when you said American advances in physics were bad because they made physics more confusing by discovering new things we didn't understand yet.

[AK54]

Lol, come on. This is as pathetic an attempt as when you said American advances in physics were bad because they made physics more confusing by discovering new things we didn't understand yet.im not really sure what he was trying to say, but both achievements by the US and USSR were important.


now if only we could all work together as one planet, rather than many states competing and fighting with each other, imagine what we could accomplish.

[mustavaris]

Yes, it is really cool that my country put the first man on the moon :)

I wonder if the second will be China, Japan, or Russia.

Russians gave up as the manned flights were then considered to be waste of resources, the prestige/PR victory was gotten by USA and everthing else Russians wanted was achievable with unmanned flights - and with a lot less of money spent.

[mustavaris]

USSR was the first to send humans outside, to space. well that's a major milestone, minor ones like reaching earth's natural satellite is a tip of the iceberg as they say

Moon was a challeng, the orbit is not that difficult. But true, the Russians beat the Americans with the first satellite, with first living being put into orbit and with first manned space flight. But they lost the race to moon.

[daddy]

Originally posted by Kiaar
Lol, come on. This is as pathetic an attempt as when you said American advances in physics were bad because they made physics more confusing by discovering new things we didn't understand yet.
==================
lol, this is as pathetic an attempt as when you try to trumpet yankee "nonachievements" as achievemetns worthy of note. it's OBVIOUS to anybody in the know that the previous MODELS of particulate nature of matter were much better, the yanks only messed it up but couldn't provide a better MODEL, they just trumpeted their 'findings' as inventions worthy of note. nothing else mate.

[daddy]

Moon was a challeng, the orbit is not that difficult. But true, the Russians beat the Americans with the first satellite, with first living being put into orbit and with first manned space flight. But they lost the race to moon.

how exactly was "moon" a challenge? lol.
if "orbit" was not that difficult every other country would've done it. lol
there was no race to the moon, it was a publicity stunt by yanks. did the soviets ever even bother about the moon? IF moon was all that important SCIENTIFICALLY tell me why mars or further planets are NOT important?
lol

[AK54]

how exactly was "moon" a challenge? lol.
if "orbit" was not that difficult every other country would've done it. lol
there was no race to the moon, it was a publicity stunt by yanks. did the soviets ever even bother about the moon? IF moon was all that important SCIENTIFICALLY tell me why mars or further planets are NOT important?
lol
maybe it was for publicity, maybe not. does it really make a difference? the competition between usa and ussr led to many great advances.

and what means this? --

"IF moon was all that important SCIENTIFICALLY tell me why mars or further planets are NOT important? lol"

have we not already begun exploring mars?

[mustavaris]

how exactly was "moon" a challenge? lol.
if "orbit" was not that difficult every other country would've done it. lol
there was no race to the moon, it was a publicity stunt by yanks. did the soviets ever even bother about the moon? IF moon was all that important SCIENTIFICALLY tell me why mars or further planets are NOT important?
lol

Soviets had large moon-oriented program but they had one disastroues accident in which they lost a large number of their best technicians and scientists which put their program a lot backwards. They could have made it there first if they had had a bit more luck, and when the Americans got there, they knew that the PR gains werent available anymore.. so they took the costs into account and accomplished their tasks with unmanned flights.

The manned flights to the orbit are simple but expensive. Chicoms used basically modernized Russian tech from 60s with their taikonaut. But the fact is that it costs a lot, thats why other countries find it more useful when they juts participate in other countries´programs or just pay for the services. A lot more cost effective way.

[Vinay]

Yes, it is really cool that my country put the first man on the moon :)

I wonder if the second will be China, Japan, or Russia.

Except that Niel armstrong stepped into some moon simulation in some hollywood studios and said some cr@p and you are tot that in school.

What d.ckheads

the real race is between china and europe now i think.

[AK54]

Except that Niel armstrong stepped into some moon simulation in some hollywood studios and said some cr@p and you are tot that in school.

What d.ckheads

the real race is between china and europe now i think.
these conspiracy theories about the moon landing always amuse me.

first of all think about it -- the whole world was watching this happen, the USSR was monitoring it just as we were. if it were fake, dont you think they would know?

[mustavaris]

these conspiracy theories about the moon landing always amuse me.

first of all think about it -- the whole world was watching this happen, the USSR was monitoring it just as we were. if it were fake, dont you think they would know?

Soviets had radars and other means to follow the flight, and they would have loved to be the first. If they had had slightest thought of US cheating, they would have made a lot of noise about it.

[Vinay]

these conspiracy theories about the moon landing always amuse me.

first of all think about it -- the whole world was watching this happen, the USSR was monitoring it just as we were. if it were fake, dont you think they would know?

Sure they know. Thats how they world got to know. But the "free, brave" people still think its true.

[Kiaar]

Sure they know. Thats how they world got to know. But the "free, brave" people still think its true.

What a joke. I didn't realize people could miss such obvious points.

Ready, I'll take it slow just for you.

- US launches rocket
- USSR follows rocket to see what it does
- US lands on moon, broadcasts video
- USSR sees it's real, because they have a thing called "RADAR" (pronounced ray-dar) that let's them track objects from far away.

Now, if it was a fake, the USSR would have known. Now, why would they not say anything about it if it was fake, when showing it as a fake would be a huge blow to the US, their main rival?

On top of that, every idiot conspiracy theory has been disproved, scientifically. In case you don't understand, it means people who know more than you and me about science have already proven that every conspiracy point was false, and used evidence to back it up.

[Kiaar]

lol, this is as pathetic an attempt as when you try to trumpet yankee "nonachievements" as achievemetns worthy of note. it's OBVIOUS to anybody in the know that the previous MODELS of particulate nature of matter were much better, the yanks only messed it up but couldn't provide a better MODEL, they just trumpeted their 'findings' as inventions worthy of note. nothing else mate.

So if it wasn't an achievement of note why did others, outside the US, treat it as such?

Must be a conspiracy and everyones in on it but you! :3eyes4:

Though I don't know why I waste my time with your posts as you ignore everything that doesn't fit into your tiny ignorant bubble of "reality" anyway.

[Vinay]

What a joke. I didn't realize people could miss such obvious points.

Ready, I'll take it slow just for you.

- US launches rocket
- USSR follows rocket to see what it does
- US lands on moon, broadcasts video
- USSR sees it's real, because they have a thing called "RADAR" (pronounced ray-dar) that let's them track objects from far away.

Now, if it was a fake, the USSR would have known. Now, why would they not say anything about it if it was fake, when showing it as a fake would be a huge blow to the US, their main rival?

On top of that, every idiot conspiracy theory has been disproved, scientifically. In case you don't understand, it means people who know more than you and me about science have already proven that every conspiracy point was false, and used evidence to back it up.


ah shoot.. kiaar of NASA knows something that we should not know.

Why the hell dont you try to sell crap elsewhere??

[Kiaar]

ah shoot.. kiaar of NASA knows something that we should not know.

Why the hell dont you try to sell crap elsewhere??

I can't sell crap here, you seem to have the monopoly on it already.

I also noticed you failed to dispute any of the common sense that's been presented to you.

[Behrooz Boonabi]

Yes, it is really cool that my country put the first man on the moon :)

I wonder if the second will be China, Japan, or Russia.

It never happened

[Kiaar]

It never happened

Prove it.

I expect better of you, you seem like a fairly intelligent person. Are you saying you know better than the rest of the world, including the US' rivals/enemies who were watching the same video feed and didn't do a thing to fight it?

Why, might you wonder, did the USSR not show it to be a counterfeit when it would have been very obvious to them if it was, and doing so would have made the US look very stupid?

Because it's real.

[Behrooz Boonabi]

Prove it.

I expect better of you, you seem like a fairly intelligent person. Are you saying you know better than the rest of the world, including the US' rivals/enemies who were watching the same video feed and didn't do a thing to fight it?

Why, might you wonder, did the USSR not show it to be a counterfeit when it would have been very obvious to them if it was, and doing so would have made the US look very stupid?

Because it's real.

It is difficult to prove because it didn't happen and there is no evidence in existence that proves it happened. Also, communication would of been physically imosable then. Russians treated it like any other joke that was going on at the time. People did believe it and it mostly served its purpose. It just didn't happen.

[techvipin]

Prove it.

I expect better of you, you seem like a fairly intelligent person. Are you saying you know better than the rest of the world, including the US' rivals/enemies who were watching the same video feed and didn't do a thing to fight it?

Why, might you wonder, did the USSR not show it to be a counterfeit when it would have been very obvious to them if it was, and doing so would have made the US look very stupid?

Because it's real.

Most probably it did happen ,but than why did US stop sending people to moon after that? And why didn't russia try to compete and send their own man , maybe even some 2 decades after the US,even if their technology was so outdated?

[Kiaar]

It is difficult to prove because it didn't happen and there is no evidence in existence that proves it happened. Also, communication would of been physically imosable then. Russians treated it like any other joke that was going on at the time. People did believe it and it mostly served its purpose. It just didn't happen.

So your proof is that you have no proof?

[Kiaar]

Most probably it did happen ,but than why did US stop sending people to moon after that? And why didn't russia try to compete and send their own man , maybe even some 2 decades after the US,even if their technology was so outdated?

After apollo 11 the US sent apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 to the moon...

The reason why Russia probably didn't go for it at that point was because it was extremely expensive and once the propaganda value was gone it wasn't really necessary.

[hitler]

japan china are both good countries. i like judo kung fu karate. which country is better at martial arts?

[mustavaris]

japan china are both good countries. i like judo kung fu karate. which country is better at martial arts?

Brazil:wub2:

[Kiaar]

japan china are both good countries. i like judo kung fu karate. which country is better at martial arts?

Did you seriously name yourself Hitler...

[Sinosphere]

japan china are both good countries. i like judo kung fu karate. which country is better at martial arts?

I don't know much about martial arts. :(

[Vinay]

which country is better at martial arts?


Easy, lets see, umm..........

[hitler]

i think they maybe equal with other oriental countries like korea. in martial arts. flying chops kicks and what not.

[Kiaar]

i think they maybe equal with other oriental countries like korea. in martial arts. flying chops kicks and what not.

Flying chops kicks? Did you just make that up?

[Mohmar 'Deathstrike']

Did you seriously name yourself Hitler...No, he named himself hitler, lower case h. It means his mustache is bigger.Good luck to China and Japan and their respective programs. Hope it would be a successful mission for the two nations.Let's hope nobody has to die because politicians decide they have to rush things, like it happened with Soyuz-1.

It's hard to predict who would get an independent manned mission there first. Japan can potentially invest more in its space program, while China has more experience with building manned orbital launch vehicles (Long March rockets with Shenzhou spacecraft). However, I believe Japan has had more people in space for longer periods of time aboard American (and possibly also Russian) vehicles. The best thing would of course be if they both launched nearly simultaneously, land near each other and shake hands, like a lunar version of the Apollo-Soyuz test project.After apollo 11 the US sent apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 to the moon...

The reason why Russia probably didn't go for it at that point was because it was extremely expensive and once the propaganda value was gone it wasn't really necessary.I think they may have invested a lot of money in the N-1 launcher, which failed during all four (unmanned) launch attempts.Russians gave up as the manned flights were then considered to be waste of resources, the prestige/PR victory was gotten by USA and everthing else Russians wanted was achievable with unmanned flights - and with a lot less of money spent.The Salyut space stations were supposed to be their replacement prestige victory. In the end, they probably advanced science more (especially space life sciences) than the moon landings.how exactly was "moon" a challenge? lol.
if "orbit" was not that difficult every other country would've done it. lol
there was no race to the moon, it was a publicity stunt by yanks. did the soviets ever even bother about the moon? IF moon was all that important SCIENTIFICALLY tell me why mars or further planets are NOT important?
lolObviously daddy will not be reading this, but to anyone who believes that the Russians never bothered about the moon, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_rocket
The manned flights to the orbit are simple but expensive. Chicoms used basically modernized Russian tech from 60s with their taikonaut. But the fact is that it costs a lot, thats why other countries find it more useful when they juts participate in other countries´programs or just pay for the services. A lot more cost effective way.Russcaps also use Russian tech from the 60s. It's a lot safer than American tech from the 80s ;) But it's not as cool, I'll give you that.

[hitler]

flying chops? flying kicks? that's what i meant, what idiot doesnt yet know about typos? or are you supposed to write full fledged grammatically correct shakespeare-esque literature here?
lol@kiaar.
heil sieg