Washington: The first-ever Japanese lunar mission was as an upcoming firm’s spacecraft was launched en route to the Moon on Sunday. Such a mission is the first for a privately-run company.
This historic lunar launch took place in United States’ Cape Canaveral and was carried by Space X. Space X’s owner is Elon Musk. Twice before this launch, due to the need for extra checks prior to the flight the launch had been postponed.
Moon Rover built by UAE
The startup ispace is based in the Japanese capital Tokyo whose spacecraft is carrying a rover built by the United Arab Emirates, which as per the live footage was abroad a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch took place at 2:38 am (0738 GMT).
Ispace’s CEO Takeshi Hakamada said that first goal of the mission is to make a path such that later on an economic system that vibrant and robust can be evolved such that the Moon’s potential can be unleashed.
Till now only China, United States and Russia have been able to land a robot on the Moon’s surface.This mission is part of the company’s Hakuto-R mission which in Japanese means “white rabbit”.In a tweet on Sunday, the Vice-President of UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum feted the launch as part of his country’s space program. – AFP/APP
