Japan and China will send unmanned spacecraft in the coming month

Japan is planning the biggest operation since Apollo. China is preparing its spacecraft to explore the surface in preparation for landing

Asia's two economic powers are set to launch unmanned spacecraft to the moon next month, as part of the countdown to the hottest space race since the US defeated the Soviet Union in the previous race, four decades ago.

The Japanese Space Agency said last week that the Selen moon satellite (SELEN) is in the final stages for launch on September 13, after a delay of about a year due to the need to fix mechanical problems. At the same time, the rumors are that China is planning to launch the Shanghai-1 spacecraft in September, but we have not given an exact date for the launch yet.

The Chinese spacecraft, which will be launched using a Model 3 Changzheng launcher, has passed all the tests and the assembly of all the necessary parts on the launch pad has also been completed. Last month, the Chinese Defense Minister told the CCTV network that everything is ready for launch by the end of the year.

Officials have tried to play down the importance of the race between China and Japan, but the rivalry lies just beneath the surface. "I don't want to refer to this in terms of victory or loss. I believe that it doesn't matter who will launch first," said Yasunori Motogawa, a senior official at the Japanese Space Agency. "We will see which launch will lead to scientific breakthroughs."

China's space program, which is overseen by the military, has made tremendous progress in recent years. In 2003, China became the first Asian country to place astronauts in space. China also blew up an old satellite of its own using an anti-satellite missile in a first test of its kind, which has never been carried out, not even by the US and Russia.

Japan is following in China's footsteps. In February, it completed the launch of four spy satellites that will be able to monitor and observe the entire planet every day. The program began in 1998, with the failed launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea. However, the effectiveness of the network is not in doubt today. Tokyo invested about 500 million dollars per year in the program.

Other regional powers such as India, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan have all placed satellites in orbit. North Korea claims that the 1998 missile broadcast the national anthem for the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, during the short time it was in space, although the claim has not been proven.

The planned lunar missions of China and Japan are among the most ambitious. Japan said that Selen, which cost 276 million dollars, is the largest object to fly to the moon since the Apollo program in terms of operational range and ambitions - and in its performance surpasses the satellites and spacecraft of the Soviet Luna program and the American Clementine and Lunar Prospector.

As part of Selan, a satellite will be launched into orbit around the moon and from there two smaller satellites will be launched into polar orbits to study the origin and development of the moon. Japan launched a spacecraft to the moon in 1990, but it only made a transition and moved on, unlike Selan, which is supposed to orbit the moon.

While the Chinese Shenzhe 1 will use stereoscopic cameras and an X-ray spectrometer to map three-dimensional images of the moon's surface and study the dust on its bottom. China has already invested $185 million in the program, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Beijing hopes to obtain soil samples from the moon in later missions. According to the project's website. Shinoa also reported that a manned spacecraft will follow the unmanned spacecraft within 15 years. Japan is also considering a manned mission in 2025.

"This is reminiscent of the race to the South Pole at the beginning of the 20th century." Says Heido Nagasu, the former head of research at one of the organizations from which the Japanese Space Agency was created - the National Aeronautics Laboratory. "For the benefit of Asia's advancement in the field of space technology, it is better to cooperate, but I believe that none of the parties wants to do so for the time being," he said.