Tokyo: A group of experts held an inaugural
meeting here to discuss how Japan should explore the moon
following the formulation of a national space development
project in June that underlined the country's ambition to send
its first manned moon probe.
A private panel set up under Seiko Noda, state minister
for Science and Technology Policy, and Food Safety, plans to
consider how Japan can bring moon exploration to realisation.
The panel plans to produce a report around June next year.
The government's space development project states that
Japan would explore the moon around 2020 with a two-legged
robot, with plans to explore the moon in earnest later
involving both man and robots.
In yesterday's meeting, members of the panel, chaired by
Katsuhiko Shirai, president of Waseda University, were
briefed by government officials on space projects under way
in other countries, such as China and the US.
"I want to have full discussions about why we should
engage in manned activities," panel member Hirotoshi Kubota,
a professor of space engineering at Teikyo University, told
the meeting.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, August 05, 2009, 10:52