I stand so close to JAXA’s Hayabusa2 asteroid lander that I could reach out and touch it. Instead, I jump on top of it. Then I strike a pose. When I jump, I hover low for a moment gravity A rugged, grey world, devoid of life and colour, before slowly descending to the surface of… Read More »
There’s a particular image of Mount Fuji that has dominated social media feeds in recent months. You’ve probably seen it. Japan’s massive, lightly snow-capped volcano rises from behind the red, white, and blue signs of a Lawson’s grocery store. Two Japanese icons side by side in one image. As stunning as the scene is, you… Read More »
A GIF showing a yellow-wrapped spacecraft with solar panel wings in space. Just outside Hiroya Yamaguchi’s office is a chalkboard full of exploded stars, spaceship diagrams, and spectral lines. The A4 printouts take up almost all the free space, except for a small corner where he sometimes scribbles with white chalk. Yamaguchi, now an associate… Read More »
According to the new agreement signed between the USA and Japan, the first non-American person to walk on the moon will be a Japanese astronaut. US President Joe Biden announced the goal during an official visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Wednesday, April 10. “Science and education ties between Japan and the United… Read More »
It may now be revealed that Japan’s future lunar rover proposal is “more than meets the eye.” First announced last June and now shipping, the new scale model of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Lunar Cruiser not only faithfully reproduces the details of the astronaut transport developed in conjunction with Toyota, but also Optimus… Read More »
Andreas Mogensen He was impressed with how smooth the landing was. The first European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut (and the first non-American) to pilot a U.S. commercial crewed spacecraft, Mogensen and the SpaceX Crew-7 crew returned to Earth after a 197-day stay aboard the International Space Station. (ISS) on March 12. Speaking at his crew’s… Read More »
Ten days after the first moon landing for Japan, the SLIM lunar lander suddenly woke up again after landing upside down. Mission operators with the SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, mission successfully accomplished the first moon landing for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on January 19. But SLIM’s solar panels were in… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and more. The journey of the robot explorer “Moon Sniper”, which made Japan the fifth country to safely place a spacecraft on the lunar surface, did not go as expected. Although the mission, officially known as the… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The journey of the robot explorer “Moon Sniper”, which made Japan the fifth country to safely place a spacecraft on the lunar surface, did not go as expected. Although the mission, officially known as the… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Japan’s space agency said Thursday that its “lunar sniper” robot explorer touched down 55 meters (165 feet) from its target on the lunar surface last week, calling it a “significant achievement” despite problems during landing… Read More »