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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Science

Japan launches rocket carrying ‘Moon Sniper’ lunar lander

The H-IIA rocket carrying the national space agency's moon lander takes off from Tanegashima [Kyodo via Reuters]

Japan has launched a rocket carrying a lunar exploration spacecraft as the country looks to become the world’s fifth to land on the moon.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the homegrown H-IIA rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Thursday and successfully released the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).

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