Moon and Space Antennas Aimed from Japan
The Japanese HIIA rocket, late last year, launched very interesting antennas to the stationary orbit 36,000Km above the earth.
Each of the two antennas so launched has a size of a tennis court, which is the largest one mankind has ever launched. It is not intended for providing a tennis court in the space for future astronauts but serving a special communications need on the ground.
Each antenna was skillfully folded and loaded on the rocked; it was also expanded with dexterity in the space.
Japan is the third largest power following the U.S. and EU in terms of the amount of budget for space development.
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This summer Japan will launch a lunar exploration satellite. It will fly on an orbit around the moon. It will observe and record the surface of the moon by 10Km square area, discerning a height of the ground as low as 5m while emitting electro-magnetic waves to probe as deep as 5Km inside the surface.
It has the most advanced scientific functions that even allow for analysis of a stone and a rock on the ground from the high above, though other countries such as China and India, without mentiononing NASA, also plan to launch their own lunar probing satellites.
What's more, Japan's lunar satellite is going to take pictures of the earth rising over the horizon of the moon with a high-definition camera. The pictures may supersede the famous one a certain Apollo crew took during their mission over the moon in late 1960's.
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The question is that Japan has not acquired big support and cooperation from other countries for its space program. The U.S. itself has many clients and stakeholders, and EU is full of intelligent parties and agencies from its member countries. Russia, China, India, and even Korea are just building up their ambitions with a keen sense of rivalry against Japan.
Indeed, Japan looks alone just like its king-size antennas taking a position in cold space 36,000Km over the equator of the earth.
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There are many reasons that you have to wait for the summer.
Live pictures of the earth rising over the horizon of the moon taken by a high-definition camera and relayed to the earth would be one, even if you have no such reasons until now.
I really like to feel like flying over the moon to the earth like a superman, though no steps of my own on its dusty and fine surface, if God who also governs the moon allows.
"PAY TO GOD WHAT BELONGS TO GOD"