The H2A Launch Vehicle No. 47, which carries a lunar probe aiming to land on the moon for the first time in Japan, which had been postponed due to bad weather, is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on June 7.

The H2A Launch Vehicle No. 47 was scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on August 8, but due to strong winds in the sky and the conditions were not met, the launch was canceled 28 minutes before the scheduled time, and the new scheduled launch time is 27:7 a.m. on August 8.

At the Tanegashima Space Center, the aircraft emerged from the assembly building on the night of the 42th and was moved to the launch site over a period of 6 minutes.

The H30A Launch Vehicle No. 2 is equipped with JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's unmanned probe "SLIM", which is planning to land on the moon for the first time Japan and the new astronomical observation satellite "XRISM" jointly developed with NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration and others.

There were concerns about the impact of the H47A rocket after the launch failure of the first H2 rocket in March, but JAXA has taken measures such as strengthening inspections of common parts.

Since the failure of the H3 launch, this is the first launch of a large rocket in Japan, and it is attracting attention.

Launch of the H3A Launch Vehicle No. 3 is scheduled for 2:47 a.m.

What is SLIM?

The H2A Launch Vehicle No. 47 is equipped with the lunar probe SLIM and the astronomical observation satellite XRISM.

Among them, "SLIM" is an unmanned probe of JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which is planning to land on the moon for the first time in Japan, and its main purpose is to demonstrate precise landing technology.

It is about 2.4 meters tall and weighs about 200 kilograms excluding fuel, and by applying image recognition technology used to recognize human faces with digital cameras, we aim to identify topographic information such as the shape of craters and land at the target point within an error of 100 meters.

The main probes of each country have an error of several kilometers to more than 10 kilometers when they land on the lunar surface, but SLIM is trying to significantly reduce it.

SLIM is planned to enter lunar orbit three to four months after launch and attempt to land on the moon around January and February next year.

If it succeeds in landing by an unmanned spacecraft, it will be the fifth country in the world, and the data obtained will be used in the "Artemis Program", an international American project aimed at landing astronauts on the moon.

In addition, we plan to investigate lunar rocks, etc., and it will be interesting to see if we can approach the mysterious "origin of the moon" in the first lunar exploration in Japan.

What is XRISM?

On the other hand, XRISM is the successor to the astronomical observation satellite "Hitomi" launched in 2016 but abandoned due to programming errors, and was developed by JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in collaboration with NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration and others.

It is about 8 meters long and weighs about 2.3 tons, and will be useful for elucidating the structure of galaxies and stars, as well as various phenomena in the universe, by X-ray observations.

After launch, the observation data obtained by XRISM will be made public based on the proposals of researchers in each country so that scientific results can be widely shared.

Lunar exploration race heating up

In recent years, the existence of water has been published one after another in lunar exploration, and competition between the government and the private sector to make it a new base for mankind is intensifying.

On August 8, India succeeded in landing the lunar probe "Chandrayaan-23" near the south pole of the moon, becoming the fourth country in the world to successfully land on the moon after the former Soviet Union, the United States, and China.

In Japan November last year, JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's unmanned probe "OMOTENASHI" was launched by a large American rocket, aiming to land on the moon for the first time in Japan, but the landing was abandoned due to unstable communication with the ground.

Also, in April, a lunar module developed by the Japan venture company "ispace" was launched by a rocket of the American private company "SpaceX", and the world's first private landing on the moon was attempted, but the altitude was mistakenly recognized and the landing failed.

As the conflict between nations intensifies, international projects are also being promoted as a stepping stone for humankind to advance into space.

The United States is working with Japan and Europe on an international project, the Artemis Project.

The plan is to build a new space station called "Gateway" and to send humans back to the moon next year.

Operation of "H2A" ended with 4 remaining aircraft, then moved to "H3"

The H2A rocket, which is currently in operation as the main rocket of Japan, has been decided to end operation with the remaining four rockets, including this No. 47.

As competition in the private satellite launch business, including SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, intensifies internationally, the H4A rocket has faced issues such as high launch costs and aging equipment.

For this reason, JAXA and other companies are spending a total development cost of about 2 billion yen to develop a new flagship rocket, the H2000.

Although the launch of the first H3 satellite failed in March, JAXA has indicated its intention to take on the challenge of launching the next H3 as soon as possible after narrowing down the cause and taking measures such as changing some parts.

According to the Cabinet Office, after the launch of "H3A" No. 2 scheduled for next fiscal year, it is planned to shift to "H2" from the next fiscal year.