Japan to Launch Its First Lunar Orbiter

April 19, 2007 By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer Japan to Launch Its First Lunar Orbiter (AP)

In this artist's rendering released by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan's first lunar probe SELENE's main satellite makes its way in orbit, accompanied by two smaller satellites. Japan's space agency announced Thursday, April 12, 2007 that the much-delayed SELENE probe will be launched for a one-year mission to explore the moon from its remote spaceport on the southern island of Tanegashima sometime in August aboard an H-2A rocket, the mainstay of Japan's space program. (AP Photo/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

(AP) -- Japan is set to launch its first lunar orbiter this summer, but exploring the moon is just part of the mission.

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