- Japan has successfully launched its lunar exploration spacecraft, known as the “Moon Sniper”, using the domestically developed H-IIA rocket.
- The achievement puts Japan in contention to become the world’s fifth country to land on the moon, with the landing planned for early next year.
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the rocket’s launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan went as scheduled. It also successfully deployed the lunar lander, Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).
