Mercury could be the perfect destination for a solar sail

Solar sails rely upon pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. Get the sail closer to the sun and, not surprisingly, efficiency increases. A proposed new mission called Mercury Scout aims to take advantage of this ...

Japan 'Moon Sniper' lands but 'not generating power'

Japan on Saturday became only the fifth nation to achieve a soft Moon landing, but the craft's long-term fate was in doubt after space agency officials said its solar cells were not generating power.

Japan moon lander enters lunar orbit

Japan's SLIM space probe entered the moon's orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country's first successful lunar landing, expected next month.

Japanese space tourists safely return to Earth

A Japanese billionaire, his producer and a Russian cosmonaut safely returned to Earth on Monday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station.

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