Japan Unveils 20-Year Space Program Plan

[nacnud]

<font color="yellow"><b>Japan unveils plan to send humans to moon</b><br />The Associated Press<br />Updated: 1:27 p.m. ET April 6, 2005<br /><br /><br /><b>Ambitious 20-year plan calls for lunar trips and hypersonic planes</b><br /><br />TOKYO - Japan's space agency mapped out a new, ambitious plan for manned flights to the moon by 2025 as a first step to explore the solar system's far-flung planets, but said decisions about whether it would go it alone or collaborate with other nations won't be made for another decade.<br /><br />The proposal unveiled Wednesday by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, marks the agency's first attempt in years to rethink its missions and rejuvenate a space program that has been hobbled by recent launchpad and space probe failures.</font>More...<br />

 

[arobie]

Very Cool. I wish them luck. <br /><br />Adding to the competition...<br /><br />Maby, just maby (but unfortunately not likely) all this emerging competition will force other space agencies into gear.

 

[nacnud]

I hope so <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Some sources are saying that they are baseing their ship on the HTV [pdf] and some say they want a space plane but I can't find the original proposal so I can't tell which it is.<br /><br />But it is all good <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Just need ESA to buy into Soyuz or Klipper or add a capsule to the ATV and we can all party in LEO... <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />

 

[arobie]

<font color="yellow">Just need ESA to buy into Soyuz or Klipper or add a capsule to the ATV and we can all party in LEO...<img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /></font><br /><br />Sounds good to me! We'll have to buy some of Bigelow's Inflatable Space Habs. I heard they were roomy...<br /><br />We could even hook em up, send them on their way, and have one big party going to Mars, Rocking the whole way! <br />[fit 'rock-on' emoticon here]

 

[toymaker]

And pdf available from the Japanese ? <br />So far only words-I have heard them since my childhood...<br />Hopefully something comes out of it...(Joint Euro-USA-Japan Mars mission would be nice) but so far I placing my bets on the quiet search for another Earth-this discovery has the potential of inspiring the world to do something seriously...

 

[nacnud]

Basicaly this is JAXA trying to get some more money out of the goverment ($2.6b up from $2b) in order to compete with China. It is all very early days yet.<br /><br />However from what I can tell the HTV is going ahead anyway and KIBO already sitting at the John F Kennedy Space Cantre so it is not all just words.