Selen-Kaguya will transmit high-definition broadcasts of the Earth's sunrise upon reaching the moon

At the Space Congress in Hyderabad, a senior member of the Japanese Space Agency gave updates on the recently launched Selen-Kaguya lunar mission

Tal Inbar, Hyderabad

One of the seats at the International Astronautical Congress held in Hyderabad, India was Manabu Kato, Director of the Planetary Science Division at the Japanese Space Agency.

The Selen (Kaguya) lunar mission was launched on September 14, 2007 from the Japan Space Center. The goal of the mission is to circle the moon. The official name of the spaceship is Selan and in Japan it is called Kaguya after the heroine of a trip to the moon in a Japanese folk tale.

The main goal of Selen (SELenological and Engineering Explorer) is to make progress in providing answers to questions about the origins of the moon and the beginning of its development. The spacecraft carries 15 instruments that will collect and transmit data to Earth about various aspects of lunar exploration.

Selen will explore the entire surface of the moon with the aim of obtaining data about its chemical and mineralogical composition, its geography, its surface and subsurface, its residual magnetic field and its gravitational field. The results are expected to lead to a better understanding of the evolution of the Moon. At the same time, the observation equipment installed on the satellite will also observe the plasma - the field of energetic particles coming from the sun. The data collected in this way will be of scientific importance for studying the possibility of using the moon for human activity.

The mission will also examine the technological concept and new space components for future lunar missions. Selen represents the most ambitious scientific mission to the moon since the Apollo missions.

Prof. Kato showed the audience a video of the launch. 45 minutes and 34 seconds after launch from the Tangashima Space Center, the spacecraft was separated from the launcher. The spacecraft deployed the solar collectors and the antenna and completed two orbital maneuvers. Celan will reach the moon on October 4 and will begin a series of six orbital maneuvers to reduce its orbit until it settles on a circular orbit at an altitude of 100 km and the duration will be two hours. During the transfer to the final orbit, the smaller RASTAR and VRAD satellites will be launched from it - the first will serve as a relay and the second will be a scientific satellite (on October 9 and 12 respectively). The spacecraft's regular activity will begin on October 19. The inspection of the subsystems and devices will begin on November 1. The arrival in the stable orbit is expected in the middle of December.

Alongside Selen's scientific instruments, another important goal is increasing public awareness. During the mission, the spacecraft will transmit high-definition television images that will show the Earth's sunrise over the surface of the Moon. The scientific data will be made available to the public one year after the end of the spacecraft's regular operations.

The Selan-2 spacecraft expected to succeed Selan will be a lander that will gather additional geological and geophysical knowledge. This mission is in the very early stages of planning at the Japan Space Agency as part of the country's long-term space strategy. Launch expected no earlier than 2012.