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NASA unveils lunar photos of possible debris of failed Japan lander

May 25, 2023 (Kyodo) - NASA on Tuesday unveiled photos of the area of the Moon where a Japanese lander failed in what could have been the world's first lunar touchdown by a private space vehicle.

The images taken by the U.S. probe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured at least four objects believed to be parts of the lander, a craft originally measuring 2.3 meters in height and 2.6 meters in width as developed by ispace Inc. based in Tokyo.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a Twitter post that the orbiter's camera has imaged the impact site of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, "which experienced an anomaly on April 26 during its landing attempt." ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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Typhoon No. 24 (Krovahn) was near Minami-Daito Island, about 300 kilometers southeast of Okinawa, as of 3 a.m. on September 7, moving east-northeast at about 10 kilometers per hour and expected to weaken into a tropical depression by the afternoon, although strong winds and high waves were forecast to persist before its remnants move north and potentially intensify the autumn rain front over western and eastern Japan later in the week.

Heavy rain disrupted rail services across the Tokyo metropolitan area during the morning commute on September 7, with some conventional lines suspended until the afternoon and many major routes operating 20% to 30% fewer trains, while the Tokaido Shinkansen was running normally from its first services of the day.

Tokyo has unveiled the design for a major redevelopment of the plaza outside Shinjuku Station's west exit, with a landmark tree, water-play area and event space planned as part of a transformation centered on "greenery, light and people" that is scheduled for completion in 2035.

A late former professor at Asahikawa Medical University has won the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine for scientifically examining the proper way to blow the nose, extending Japan's streak of Ig Nobel winners to 20 consecutive years.

Night trains are making a comeback across Japan, with railway operators introducing new overnight services and even experimenting with overnight Shinkansen trains as demand grows for alternatives that combine transportation, accommodation and the experience of traveling through the night.

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MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

A new generation of optoelectronic integration technology developed over four decades by Japanese companies is moving closer to commercialization, offering a way to transmit huge volumes of data with low latency while sharply reducing the electricity consumed by data centers as artificial intelligence drives explosive growth in computing demand.

Dyson CameraJet™ turns the smart toothbrush into an active sensing product, making useful feedback and clear privacy design part of the same engineering brief.

A late former professor at Asahikawa Medical University has won the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine for scientifically examining the proper way to blow the nose, extending Japan's streak of Ig Nobel winners to 20 consecutive years.

An autonomous ride-hailing service developed by British company Wayve launched in London on September 3, with the AI-powered technology also scheduled to begin trial operations in Tokyo by the end of 2026.

A herd of an estimated 200 to 300 deer has been filmed in the Southern Alps, highlighting a rapidly expanding population that experts warn is damaging mountain ecosystems, stripping vegetation, increasing landslide risks and creating problems across Japan ranging from crop losses to traffic accidents.

The Japanese government has revised its assessment of active faults across the Kinki region for the first time in about 20 years, increasing the number of fault zones considered at the highest level of concern for earthquakes of magnitude 6.8 or greater from three to eight.

Residents in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, have asked the city to take a more active role in explaining and reviewing plans for a large data center to be built on the former site of Osaka University's Minoh Campus, citing concerns over low-frequency noise, loss of sunlight and other potential effects on daily life.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake centered in southern Ibaraki Prefecture shook a wide area of the Kanto region at around 2 a.m. on August 23, registering a maximum intensity of lower 5 on Japan's seven-level seismic scale in parts of Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Tokyo.