NASA is aiming to launch a rocket to an asteroid in five years and grab a boulder off of it – a stepping stone for an eventual trip sending humans to Mars.<\/p>\n
The space agency Wednesday unveiled details of the $1.25 billion plan to launch a solar powered unmanned spaceship to an asteroid in December 2020. The ship would then spend about a year circling the large space rock and pluck a 13-foot (4-meter) boulder off its surface.<\/p>\n
NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot said the smaller rock would be hauled near the moon and parked there. Two astronauts would fly to it in 2025 and start exploring.<\/p>\n
Japan put into orbit a camera satellite on Thursday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.<\/p>\n
The satellite was launched on board a rocket at 10:21 am (0121 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Centre in the south-western prefecture of Kagoshima, the agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said.<\/p>\n
About 20 minutes after liftoff, the successful separation of the satellite from its H-2A rocket was confirmed by the agency.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s launch was Japan’s second this year following a backup radar satellite for intelligence gathering launched on February 1.<\/p>\n
Japan has two radar satellites and two optical satellites in orbit.<\/p>\n
The latest satellite will replace one of the two optical ones that was launched in 2009. It was developed at a cost of 32.5 billion yen (272 million dollars), Japan’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said.<\/p>\n
8-year, 4.8-billion km journey for NASA spacecraft<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n NASA launched a new communications satellite<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n