JAXA to launch lunar lander in August

Jul 12 (NHK) - Japan's space agency says its lunar lander will be launched on an H2A rocket next month.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, on Tuesday announced the launch of the probe called the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM.

The SLIM project is seeking to be Japan's first lunar landing. It will test pinpoint landing technology as well as examining moon rocks.

If successful, Japan would be the fourth country to carry out a lunar landing.

Data obtained by the probe would be used for the US-led Artemis program aimed at sending astronauts to the moon for space exploration.

The H2A is to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan on August 26 at 9:34 a.m., local time.

The launch vehicle will also carry a new X-ray astronomical satellite, XRISM, jointly developed with US space agency NASA and others.

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