Japan's Hayabusa2 leaves asteroid to deliver samples to Earth in 2020
Japan's space agency said Wednesday its Hayabusa2 space probe had departed from an asteroid where it had landed to collect samples, and will now travel some 800 million kilometers to deliver them to Earth in November or December of next year. The probe's homeward journey, ...
Mitsubishi Heavy looking to develop more powerful H3 rocket for lunar missions
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is looking to develop an upgraded version of Japan's mainstay next-generation H3 rocket capable of delivering heavy payloads deeper into space, company officials said. The firm's move comes after the country agreed this fall to take part in missions to the ...
Hayabusa2 probe to begin journey back to Earth carrying samples from distant Ryugu asteroid
Japan's Hayabusa2 probe will on Wednesday leave orbit around a distant asteroid and head for Earth after an unprecedented mission, carrying samples that could shed light on the origins of the solar system. Science and education minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters Tuesday that the long ...
World's first self-styled space trader scopes out a $43 billion industry
The business of manufacturing and launching small satellites is projected to grow almost fourfold over the coming decade to $42.8 billion, creating an opportunity for those seeking to profit from increased commerce between companies in the industry. One of them is Masatoshi Nagasaki, the world's ...
JAXA and NASA agree to collaborate more on lunar exploration
The Japanese and U.S. space agencies agree to step up collaboration on advancing human activities on the moon as a way of realizing the eventual exploration of Mars.
Robotic explorer to orbit Ryugu asteroid in final mission for Japan's Hayabusa2
The Hayabusa2 on Thursday released a robotic explorer bound for the surface of an asteroid in the probe's final task before returning to earth, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. The Minerva-II2, a small rover attached to Hayabusa2, began its descent toward the surface ...
Japan's Kounotori8 cargo spaceship docks with International Space Station
Kounotori8, Japan's unmanned cargo spaceship loaded with supplies, docked with the International Space Station at an altitude of about 400 kilometers Saturday, the country's space agency said. The vessel docked after astronauts aboard the ISS caught the cargo transporter using a robotic arm, the Japan ...
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Saturday it plans to launch a rocket with an unmanned spacecraft bound for the International Space Station next Wednesday after a fire thwarted earlier plans. The fire at the launch pad on Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Sept. 11 ...
Concentrated liquid oxygen was cause of fire ahead of Japan rocket launch, source says
A high concentration of liquid oxygen, used as rocket engine coolant, has been determined as being behind a fire that broke out earlier this month at a launchpad in southwestern Japan, an official close to the matter has said. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. had planned ...
Japanese astronauts visit factory making 'Mobile Suit Gundam' models bound for space
Astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Norishige Kanai on Wednesday visited a factory making models of humanoid robots from the anime series "Mobile Suit Gundam" that are slated to be launched into space. The project is part of an effort by Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers and the ...
Japan's cargo vessel to resupply International Space Station in September
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will send an unmanned cargo transporter to the International Space Station in September. The HTV8, also called Kounotori8, meaning white stork in Japanese, will deliver over 5 tons of supplies to the astronauts on the ISS, including food and ...
Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide wants Japanese tech to be used to explore the moon and Mars
Japan should make use of its space technology in international missions to explore the moon and Mars, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide said in an interview in New York on Friday. "As an advanced space nation, Japan has entered an era in which it should play ...
