Japan aims for manned moon station in 2030

Japan aims for manned moon station in 2030
Aug 02 1:03 PM US/Eastern

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/0....lqcj9xih.html

AFP - Japan's space agency has set a goal of constructing a manned
lunar base in 2030.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) revealed its ambition to
an international conference in Tokyo this week but has not yet been
alotted the budget for the ambitious project.

JAXA hopes to launch a satellite into lunar orbit next year, followed
by an unmanned spacecraft that will land on the moon and a probe ship
that will collect samples from the moon.

Under the plan, the astronauts will be sent to the moon by around 2020
so that they will start construction of the base to be completed by
2030, the agency said.

Japan had earlier given 2025 as the target date for a lunar base.

"The feasibility of the plan is unclear at this point as we need to
gain understanding by the government and the Japanese people on our
plan, but technologically it would be possible in a few decades," said
Satoki Kurokawa, spokesman for JAXA Wednesday.

"Exploring a frontier is always a mission of science. In addition,
space programs have the potential to create cutting-edge technologies,
particularly in the field of robotics," he said, explaining benefits of
the program.

Japan's space program has been on a rebound with a series of satellite
launches after an embarrassment in 2003, when it had to abort a rocket
carrying a spy satellite just 10 minutes after lift-off.

The United States is planning to put a person on the moon by 2015, the
first since another American, Eugene Cernan, on December 11, 1972.

US President George W. Bush has set the goal of a manned mission to
Mars by 2020.

The European Space Agency plans a human flight to the moon in 2020 and
China and India are preparing unmanned missions in the next two years.