Japan launches 'moon sniper' lunar lander SLIM into space

H-IIA rocket carrying the national space agency's moon lander is launched at Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Tanegashima, Japan on Sept 7, 2023. - Kyodo via Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters): Japan launched its lunar exploration spacecraft on Thursday (Sept 7) aboard a homegrown H-IIA rocket, hoping to become the world's fifth country to land on the moon early next year.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan as planned and successfully released the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM). Unfavourable weather led to three postponements in a week last month.