Spacecraft to Hit Moon
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KAGUYA's expected impact location. Click for larger (61k). Image credit: JAXA
. . .on purpose.
Japan’s space agency, JAXA has a spacecraft called KAGUYA carrying out observations of the moon from lunar orbit.
KAGUYA’s mission began when it launched on September 14, 2007, providing stunning High-Definition views during the mission. The mission is in an extened operational phase at the moment and has been providing data from a lower lunar orbit since February 1, 2009.
The mission will end with a controlled impact with the lunar surface. The exact time and location is subject to change in the next couple of weeks, but right now it is expected to conclude by impact on June 10, 2009 at 18:30 GMT.
The image above from JAXA shows the current projection for the impact.
I will try and keep the date and location updated. Check out the mission pages at the SELENE Project homepage.
aww man… now they’re gonna trash the moon… there better be a clean up project once we get situated there.
We know how this goes. Japan hits the moon with a space craft, so next year USA will have to hit it with a missle to show our superority in space…………….Ja……..”once we get situited there.” We are.
Towards what end would Japan or US or anybody, for that matter, want to crash a spacecraft into
the moon? Is it an economic move. I can’t imagine that it’ll look cool (like it would if somebody would burn up one in our own atmosphere!) If it’s their (Japan’s) “garbage” i.e., a disposable craft, they should pick it up. It’s bad enough we trash this planet…
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Actually this is not new by any stretch, heck even India has done it.
[...] proposed region of impact is below, go to Tom’s Astronomy Blog for a larger version. Credit: [...]
I admit I’ve done little research on Kaguya, but I am interested in hearing how Japan plans to “utilize the moon for the benefit of mankind”. That’s something of an ominous statement. I’ld be more interested in the mission as a whole if they were planning on crashing into Venus, or Jupiter, or…
The Moon belomgs to the U.S.A. We planted a flag there and sent some clowns to stumble around in the dust. “One giant step for, er, mankind, er, one step, aw sh1t, I fergit.”
LET ME DRIVE THE SPACE CRAFT.
Well, money will be spent there instead of war once the tidal waves start…
japan should crash all theyre toyotas into the moon. GO CHEVY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!88
you mentioned that “The mission will end with a controlled impact with the lunar surface”!! If it had been “a controlled impact”, surely they would have ensured that the KAGUYA spacecraft would not have entered/moved into a shaded area on the moon to make its final landing/crash. Was the KAGUYA spacecraft able to film the US flag and/or lunar module?
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