Japan announces moon program
'''April 6, 2005'''

[[Image:Flag of Japan.svg|thumb|right|Japan said it would decide within 10 years whether it would pursue its moon program on its own, or if it would team up with other nations.]]
[[:Category:Japan|Japan]] announced on Wednesday a program to send astronauts to the moon by 2025. The plan calls for the establishment of a moon base that would be operated by Japanese astronauts and robots.

"Until now, the question has been, 'Can Japan develop its own manned spaceship?' We will know the answer in another 10 years," JAXA Chairman Keiji Tachikawa told the ''Associated Press''.

The plan includes the development of robots and [[w:nanotechnology|nanotechnology]], and calls for the design of a space vehicle to carry passengers and cargo to the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) asked for a budget increase to about US$2.6 billion a year to fund the program.

Aerospace professor Taketoshi Hibiya, who works at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology, questioned the value of going to the moon.

[[Image:Moon apollo12.jpg|thumb|left|No country has sent a manned mission to the moon since the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s.]]
"If you are hoping to exploit energy resources for example, the question is whether you gain more energy than you expend getting to the moon and back," Hibiya told ''Reuters''. "As scientists, we want to experiment with everything, including manned flight, if we can get the money," he said. "Unfortunately, the country's budget is in a bad way at the moment."

Japan is running a national debt of 751 trillion yen (US$6.94 trillion).

Japan said it would decide within 10 years whether it would pursue its moon program on its own, or if it would team up with other nations.

No country has sent a manned mission to the moon since the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s. China and Russia are both planning moon programs of their own. China plans to send a satellite to the moon in 2007. Russia has a plan to send personnel to the moon sometime between 2015-2020 as part of a larger program to one day send a mission to Mars.

JAXA's next mission will survey the moon with the ''SELENE'' probe. The mission was scheduled to launch this year, but has been delayed for unknown reasons.

==Sources==
* {{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/04/06/japan.moon.base.reut/
|title=Japan's moon base project faces funding hurdle
|author=
|pub=CNN
|date=April 6, 2005}}
* {{source|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-as-sci-japan-to-the-moon,0,3256433.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
|title=Japan Unveils 20-Year Space Program Plan
|author=Kenji Hall, AP
|pub=Newsday
|date=April 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/06/content_2794744.htm
|title=Japan hopes to launch manned space shuttle to moon in 20 years
|author=
|pub=Xinhua
|date=April 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=8099891
|title=Japan Agency's Moon Base Dream Faces Funding Hurdle
|author=Isabel Reynolds
|pub=Reuters
|date=April 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=-5570
|title=Russia Stands Ready for Manned Flights to Mars
|author=
|pub=Kommersant
|date=April 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200504/05/eng20050405_179552.html
|title=China outlines blueprint of lunar probe
|author=
|pub=People's Daily
|date=April 6, 2005}}

  

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[[Category:April 6, 2005]]
[[Category:Japan]]
[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Robotics]]
[[Category:The Moon]]

[[ca:Japó anuncia programa per a enviar astronautes i crear una base a la Lluna]]
[[es:Japón anuncia programa para enviar astronautas y crear una base en la Luna]]
[[pt:Japão anuncia programa para enviar astronautas e criar uma base na Lua]]
'April 6, 2005'

Japan said it would decide within 10 years whether it would pursue its moon program on its own, or if it would team up with other nations.
Japan announced on Wednesday a program to send astronauts to the moon by 2025. The plan calls for the establishment of a moon base that would be operated by Japanese astronauts and robots.

"Until now, the question has been, 'Can Japan develop its own manned spaceship?' We will know the answer in another 10 years," JAXA Chairman Keiji Tachikawa told the Associated Press.

The plan includes the development of robots and nanotechnology, and calls for the design of a space vehicle to carry passengers and cargo to the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) asked for a budget increase to about US$2.6 billion a year to fund the program.

Aerospace professor Taketoshi Hibiya, who works at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology, questioned the value of going to the moon.

No country has sent a manned mission to the moon since the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s.
"If you are hoping to exploit energy resources for example, the question is whether you gain more energy than you expend getting to the moon and back," Hibiya told Reuters. "As scientists, we want to experiment with everything, including manned flight, if we can get the money," he said. "Unfortunately, the country's budget is in a bad way at the moment."

Japan is running a national debt of 751 trillion yen (US$6.94 trillion).

Japan said it would decide within 10 years whether it would pursue its moon program on its own, or if it would team up with other nations.

No country has sent a manned mission to the moon since the Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s. China and Russia are both planning moon programs of their own. China plans to send a satellite to the moon in 2007. Russia has a plan to send personnel to the moon sometime between 2015-2020 as part of a larger program to one day send a mission to Mars.

JAXA's next mission will survey the moon with the SELENE probe. The mission was scheduled to launch this year, but has been delayed for unknown reasons.

ca:Japó anuncia programa per a enviar astronautes i crear una base a la Lluna
es:Japón anuncia programa para enviar astronautas y crear una base en la Luna
Japão anuncia programa para enviar astronautas e criar uma base na Lua
April 6, 2005 Japan Science and technology Space Asia Robotics The Moon