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Japan is shooting for the moon, literally

​The H-2A rocket launched at Tanagashima Space Center in Minamitane Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Sept. 7, 2023.

The H-2A rocket launched at Tanagashima Space Center in Minamitane Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Sept. 7, 2023.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration/The Yomiuri Shimbun via Reuters
Riley Callanan
By Riley CallananJanuary 18, 2024
Riley Callanan

Riley is a former writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).

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This weekend, Japan will attempt to become the fifth country to successfully land on the moon. The spacecraft “Moon Sniper” begins its 20-minute descent at midnight Tokyo time on Friday, armed with a small robot rover designed by the same Japanese toy company that brought us Bayblades and Transformers.

A lot is riding on this attempt: Japan has already failed to land on the moon twice, which allowed India to cruise into the fourth spot in the moon-landing club earlier this summer.

But Japan seems pretty confident that the third time will be the charm. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency even released an online landing simulator video game ahead of the launch. Go Japan! Ganbatte!

moon japan

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