Japan lunar mission canceled
It has been planned for a long time, but it will not fly: The Japanese moon probe Lunar-A.
As the Japanese space agency JAXA announced at a press conference on January 15th, 2007, the ambitious project of an own lunar probe is about to end. Lunar-A was to use a proprietary instrument rig to transport a seismometer and temperature gauge to the moon and use them to study the moon's core, surface temperature and geological history.
The start was originally planned for the mid-1990s, but technical problems in the development of the measuring devices have repeatedly led to delays to this day. Since the probe body was already completed in 1995, its technology is now outdated and meanwhile unusable. On the other hand, the measuring instruments have not yet been fully developed. The JAXA committee responsible therefore recommended that the project be discontinued. A final decision by the authorities is still pending, but it is very likely.
But this does not mean the end of the Japanese lunar exploration program. The sensors and measuring instruments from Lunar-A are to be used in other missions, including international ones. JAXA is not planning to build a new moon probe, as this would delay the project again.
TA/MH
