Comparison of Asian national space programs

Several Asian countries have national space programs, and they are considered to be competing with each other to achieve scientific and technological advancements in space. The media has occasionally called this competition the Asian space race.^[1] The exploration of Outer space is of strategic concern to a growing number of countries worldwide. Earth's orbit and Manned spaceflight are becoming the main battleground to ensure national security.^[2] In past and recent years, a number of Asian nations have become serious contenders in the "race" to control space.^[3]

Asian space powers

See also: Timeline of first orbital launches by country

Of the nine (or eleven if one counts Russia and Ukraine separate from the Soviet Union) countries that have successfully launched a satellite independently into orbit, four are Asian and two are Middle Eastern countries:Japan, China, India, Israel and Iran.

Kazakhstan does not have its own rocket technology and hosts the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch facility which is used by Russia under a lease agreement of $150 million annually. Iraq developed and tested the Tammouz space launch vehicle without a satellite on 5 December 1989. According to a press release by the Iraqi News Agency the warhead completed 6 orbits, but this was not confirmed by international observers. North Korea has also claimed to have launched satellites Kwangmyŏngsŏng by its own launchers twice (in 31 August 1988 and in 5 April 2009), however according to international observers, those rockets fell into the North Pacific without deploying any satellites in orbit. South Korea plans to enter the Asian space club in 2009 and Indonesia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Turkey are claimed to have some kind of space program as well^{[citation needed]}.

China's first manned spacecraft entered orbit in October 2003, making China the first Asian nation and the third after Soviet Union/Russia and the United States in the world to send a human into space independently.^[4]

India expects to demonstrate independent human spaceflight by 2015,^[5] and both Iran and Japan have plans for independent manned spaceflights around the year 2020.

While the achievements of space programs run by main Asian space players China, India and Japan are modest in comparison to the milestones set by the United States and the former Soviet Union in the first space race, some experts believe it may only be a matter of time before Asia leads the field.^[6] As for beginning of 21st century, China is the leader in Asia's space race.^[7] The first Chinese manned spaceflight in 2003 marked the beginning of a space race in the region. In the same time, the issue of a space race's existence in Asia is still debated. As example, China denies that there is an Asian Space Race.^[8]

Some examples: In January 2007 China became the first Asian military-space power to send an anti-satellite missile into orbit to destroy an aging Chinese Feng Yun 1C in polar orbit weather satellite.^[9] As conterpart, month later, Japan's space agency (JAXA) has launched an experimental communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission in remote areas which would make Japan as high-tech space leader.^[9] After successful achievement of geostationary technology, India has launched its first Chandrayaan-1 Moon mission.^[10] First Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon spent 11 days aboard the International Space Station in April 2008.^[11]

Apart from national pride, there are also commercial motivations. According to a report by the Space Frontier Foundation released in 2006, the "space economy" is estimated to be worth about $180 billion, with more than 60 percent of space-related economic activity coming from commercial goods and services.^[2] Now China and India widely propose the commercial launch service.

China

China's space program has been in the spotlight since 2003, when it started manned space launches, becoming the first Asian country and the third overall to independently send a man into space.^[4] China successfully performed an EVA in September 2008. China has developed a sizable family of successful Long March rockets. It has launched two lunar orbiters, Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 and intends to land a rover on the moon and conduct a sample return mission. In 2011, China plans to embark on a program to established a manned space station starting with the launch of Tiangong 1. China also expects to send its first Mars probe in 2011. As well as national pride there are commercial drivers such as launching of satellites for communications, weather forecast and research of Earth's atmosphere.

It also has collaborative projects with Russia, ESA and Brazil and has launched commercial satellites for other countries.

Some analysts suggest that the Chinese space program is linked to the nation's efforts at developing advanced military technology.^[12] In 2007, China used an anti-satellite missile to destroy a defunct weather satellite, the Feng Yun 1-C, orbiting 528 miles (850 km) above Earth. The resulting explosion sent a wave of debris hurtling through space at more than 6 miles per second.^[13] On 21 February 2008 the US Navy destroyed a disabled spy satellite USA 193. The US denied the destruction of the satellite was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China in 2007.^[14]

India

India's interest in space travel had a modest beginning in the early 1960s, when scientists launched a small rocket above Kerala.^[15] Now India has its own space launch vehicles, has launched several satellites, sent a probe to the moon and demonstrated re-entry technology. Initially India's space program was not taken as a geopolitical weapon of pride but under Vikram Sarabhai focussed on practical uses of space in increasing standards of living. Thus the impetus was on putting remote sensing and communications satellites into orbit. This has changed in the recent past.^[16] The main shifts took place under two administrations. The first was that of Indira Gandhi, when India sent its first human in space, Rakesh Sharma, through Soviet Intercosmos Program. Then there was a long gap before the second shift, which was during the administration in India under Atal Behari Vajpayee. Just a few days after China said that it would send a human into orbit in the second half of 2003, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee publicly urged his country's scientists to work towards sending a man to the Moon.^[17] Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned lunar mission was launched on October 2008.^[18] The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning its 2nd moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, in 2013.^[19] India expects a manned space mission by 2015^[20] that will make the country a fourth space power.The Indian Space Research Organisation had begun preparations for a mission to Mars.^[21]

Japan

The H-IIA F11 launch vehicle lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

Japan has been cooperating with the United States on missile defence since 1999. North Korean nuclear and Chinese military programs represent a serious issue for Japan's foreign relations.^[22] Japan is now working on military and civilian space technologies, developing missile defence systems, new generations of military spy satellites, and planning for manned stations on the Moon.^[23] Japan started to construct spy satellites after North Korea test fired a Taepodong missile over Japan in 1998, although the North Korean government claimed the missile was merely launching a satellite to space accusing Japan of causing an arms race.^[24] The Japanese constitution adopted after World War II limits military activities to defensive operations. On May 2007 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a bold review of the Japanese Constitution to allow the country to take a larger role in global security and foster a revival of national pride.^[25] Japan has not yet developed its own manned spacecraft and has not adopted acting program of developing of one. Some time ago project of Japan space shuttle HOPE-X launched by conventional space launcher H-II was developed during several years but was postponed. Then the more simple manned capsule Fuji was proposed but not adopted. Pioneer projects of single-stage to orbit, reusable launch vehicle horizontal takeoff and landing ASSTS and vertical takeoff and landing Kankoh-maru also exists but have not been adopted. More conservative new (JAXA manned spacecraft) project is expected to launch by 2025 as part of Japanese plans of manned missions to Moon. A science journalist such as Shin'ya Matsuura is doubtful about the Japanese manned moon project and expects the project is a euphemism for participation in the American Constellation program,^[26] same as the Japanese manned space program such as ISS. On the other hand, JAXA planned to send a Humanoid robot (such as ASIMO) as an astronaut to the moon.^[26]

Iran

Iran has developed its own satellite launch vehicle based on the Shahab series of IRBMs, and named the Safir SLV. On February 2, 2009, Iranian state television reported that Iran's first domestically made satellite Omid (from the Persian امید, meaning "Hope") had been successfully launched into LEO by a version of Iran's Safir rocket, the Safir-2.^[27] The launch was made to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Iran is presently working on various series of indigenous satellites. Iranian universities play a very active role in the development of the country's space science and industry. Rasad-1 was Iran's first imaging student nano-satellite which was launched successfully on 15 June 2011. The Iranian Space Agency has also disclosed plans for a manned space program intending to put humans in space by 2021; furthermore study and plannings have been launched on building an Iranian space town however no specific date has been announced for the launch as yet.

Israel

Israel became the eighth country in the world to build its own satellite and launch it with its own launcher when on September 19, 1988, Israel launched its first satellite, Ofeq-1, using an Israeli-built Shavit three-stage launch vehicle.^[28] Since then, local universities, research institutes and private industry, backed by the Israel Space Agency, have made progress in space technology. At the time, the launching was the high point of a process that had begun in 1983, with the establishment of the Israel Space Agency under the aegis of the Ministry of Science. Space research by university-based scientists had already begun in the 1960s, providing a ready-made pool of experts for Israel's foray into space. The agency's role is stated to be for supporting "private and academic space projects, coordinate their efforts, initiate and develop international relations and projects, head integrative projects involving different bodies, and create public awareness for the importance of space development."^[29]

Pakistan

Pakistan started its national space program by establishing Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission(SUPARCO)50 year ago in 16 September 1961.On 7 June 1961, under the leadership of Air Force's Air Commodore (Brigadier-General) Władysław Józef Marian Turowicz, a two-stage rocket, Rehbar-I, was launched from the Sonmiani Flight Test Center. Pakistan was the third country in Asia and the tenth in the world to conduct such a launching. SUPARCO currently has many satellite in orbit and is planing to conduct more such types of launch, recently SUPARCO has launched PAKSAT-IR a multifunctioning satellite in space, Suparco has set up, The SUPARCO Satellite Ground Station is an earth observation and remote sensing satellite control center. The SUPARCO's SGS center is a major space research centre of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), focusing on the earth observational and remote sensing technology.

Other nations

Indonesia was one of the first Asian countries that began operate their own application (communication) satellite purchased abroad and now intends to join the Asian space powers by developing and starting of use of the own small space launch vehicle Pengorbitan (RPS-420) in 2012-2014.

North Korea has long-durated experience of rocket technology and years before proliferated it to Pakistan, Iran etc. On 12 March 2009 North Korea signed the Outer Space Treaty and the Registration Convention,^[30] after a previous declaration of preparations for a new satellite launch. DPRK twicely announced that launched satellites Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1 at August 31, 1998 and Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 at April 5, 2009. This claims both times not confirmed in the world, but USA and South Korea estimated ones as tests of military ballistic missile. DPRK has Korean Committee of Space Technology space agency of North Korea, operates the Musudan-ri (Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground) Pongdong-ri (Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center) rocket launching sites and developed Baekdusan-1 and Unha (Baekdusan-2) space launchers and Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellites. In 2009 DPRK announced more ambitious future space projects including own manned space flights and development of a manned partially reusable launch vehicle even.^[31]

South Korea is a newer player in the Asian space race.^[32] In August 2006 South Korea launched its first military communications satellite, the Mugunghwa-5 satellite. The satellite was placed in geosynchronous orbit and is able to collect surveillance information on North Korea.^[33] The South Korean government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in space technology and is due to launch its first space launcher KSR in 2008.^[34] South Korea's space program is justified by its government in terms of long-term commercial benefits and national pride. Seoul has long seen North Korea's significantly longer missile range as a serious threat to its national security. With the nation's first astronaut launched into Space, Lee So-yeon, South Korea gained confidence of entering Asian space race. Currently, the country is completing the construction of Naro Space Center. Once operational, South Korea will be able to build satellites and missiles with local technology.^[35] South Korea is pursuing a space program that could defend the peninsula while lessening Seoul's dependency on the United States.

Other "young" space players are Malaysia and Turkey that announced multitask space programs in 2006 and 2007. They intends to develop own satellites and launchers in nearest future and manned space facilities in far future even.

Taiwan tries some space efforts including space launchers. Thailand, Vietnam and some other countries mainly engaged by satellites only.

In 2009, Bangladesh announced its plans to launch its first satellite into orbit by 2011. At a cost of $150 million, the communications satellite is part of a wider scheme to develop the country's telecommunications sector. Bangladesh's government has stressed that the country seeks an "entirely peaceful and commercial" role in space.^[36]

There have been reports of the two rising Asian powers, China and India's collaboration with EU to challenge American supremacy in space. In 2003 reports emerged that China will invest £140 million in the European Union's Galileo global satellite system and India will invest £210 million in the scheme.^[37] However, hopes of India and China working closely on Global Satellite Navigation System were thrashed when Government of India approved the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System project and signed an agreement with Russia on future development of GLONASS.^[38] Also, NASA's involvement in India's lunar mission and several other space-related projects^[39] indicates growing collaboration between India and the United States in the field of space exploration.^[20]

Major Asian achievements

The manned spaceflight performed by China was a high-profile Asian space achievement. The advanced technology was the result of integration of various related technological experiences, and the space achievements of China are practical. Early Chinese satellites, such as the FSW series, undergone many atmospheric reentry tests. Other nations such as Japan and India have had fewer reentry experiences, subsequently resulting in a barrier to manned spaceflight. In the 1990s, China had also succeeded in achieving commercial launches, resulting in many launch experiences and a high success average after the 1990s. These achievements were followed on during the manned spaceflight in 2003. Recently, China also aims to undertake scientific development in fields such as solar system exploration. During the time when Japan and Europe began interplanetary explorations with the Halley Armada project in the 1980s, China was in a state of economic depression and resultingly skipped solar system explorations at this time. Nevertheless, the first Mars orbiter from an Asian country, Yinghuo 1, will be launched in 2011.

India has gained significant expertise in space technologies and has successfully conducted many commercial launches. The most numerous satellites in simultaneous launch, 10, was achieved in 2008. The first probe designed for lunar impact in Asia was achieved in the same year. The GSLV MK III, planned to launch in 2010, is expected to be commercially competitive due to its low-cost heavy launch vehicle. India is also aiming to position itself as the second country to successfully execute an indigenous manned spaceflight in Asia.

Japan has had many space achievements, especially within the scientific field. Japan's space program has had some strange circumstances, namely that Japanese first orbital launch was achieved by a university institute rather than a national space agency. Therefore, most of early Japanese satellites were for scientific exploration and resulted in many scientific achievements. On the other hand, the national space agency had to catch up to the university in haste. Hence, various American space technologies, including geosynchronous launch and weather/communication satellites, were imported early on. Thereafter, a strong yen and the Super 301 put Japanese commercial launches at a disadvantage. Japan ended up with fewer launch opportunities as a result, and a decrease in spaceflight experience leading to a deterioration of success averages after the 1990s. Most Japanese indigenous launches, excluding governmental satellites, are limited to technological experiments and scientific satellites, aimed at producing achievements on an international scale.

Timeline of the national firsts in Asia

See also: Asian space race#Comparison of key technologies

– Indigenous manned missions

– Manned missions

– Lunar or Interplanetary missions

– Other missions

Date	Nation	Name	The firsts in Asia	World achievements
4 Oct 1957	Kazakh SSR	Baikonur Cosmodrome	Satellite launch pad (under USSR)	The first satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched.
11 Feb 1970	Japan	Osumi	Satellite	The smallest satellite launch vehicle (L-4S; 9.4t weight, 1.4m diameter)
24 Feb 1975	Japan	Taiyo	Solar probe
26 Oct 1975	China	FSW-0	Satellite recovery[40]
26 Oct 1975	China	FSW-0: - 10m (1975) FSW-1B: - 4m (1992)[41] Beidou: - 0.5m (till 2007)[42]	High resolution imaging satellite
8 Jul 1976	Indonesia	Palapa A1	Geosynchronous satellite (launched by NASA)
23 Feb 1977	Japan	N-I	Geosynchronous launch
21 Feb 1979	Japan	Hakucho	Space observatory
23 Jul 1980	Vietnam	Phạm Tuân	Asian in space (Soyuz 37)
20 Sep 1981	China	FB-1	Simultaneous satellite launch[43]
8 Jan 1985	Japan	Sakigake	Leaving Earth orbit	The first interplanetary launch by solid rocket (M-3SII)
1985-6-17	Saudi Arabia	Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud	First Asian on Space Shuttle mission (STS-51-G)
19 Mar 1990	Japan	Hagoromo	Reach lunar orbit (assumed)
7 Apr 1990	China	CZ-3	Commercial launch (AsiaSat 1)
10 Apr 1993	Japan	Hiten	Intentional lunar impact	The first aerobraking test[44]
8 Jul 1994	Japan	Chiaki Mukai	Asian woman in space (STS-65)
1997-11-19	Japan	Takao Doi	Spacework (STS-87)
28 Nov 1997	Japan	ETS-VII	Rendezvous docking
3 Jul 1998	Japan	Nozomi	Martian mission
30 Oct 2000	China	Beidou	Satellite navigation system
10 Sep 2002	Japan	Kodama[45]	Data relay satellite (with ESA)
15 Oct 2003	China	Yang Liwei	Asian indigenously in space
		Shenzhou	Manned spacecraft
19 Nov 2005	Japan	Hayabusa	Soft-landed probe on extraterrestrial object	The first asteroid ascent
11 Jan 2007	China	FY-1C	ASAT test	highest in history with altitude 865 km, also the fastest with speed 18k miles/h
23 Feb 2008	Japan	WINDS	Internet satellite	The fastest internet satellite[46]
11 Mar 2008	Japan	Japanese Experiment Module	Manned foundations in space (STS-123, STS-124, STS-127)	The world’s largest pressurized volume in space[47]
25 Apr 2008	China	Tianlian I	Indigenous Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System First TDRS system to support manned missions
27 Sep 2008	China	Zhai Zhigang	Indigenous EVA
		BanXing	Manned spacecraft-launched satellite
14 Nov 2008	India	Moon Impact Probe	Probe designed for Lunar impact
23 Jan 2009	Japan	GOSAT	Greenhouse gas explorer[48]
29 Sept 2011	China	Tiangong-1	Space station

Other achievements

• Most numerical multiple-satellite payload transfer capability -  India (PSLV, 10 satellites in one launch)
• First Asian country to collaborate International Space Station -  Japan
• Largest budget for space research -  Japan
• Most spaceports -  China (5, see spaceport or rocket launch site)

Timeline of the heaviest satellite launch vehicle in Asia

First success	LEO	GTO / GEO	Notes
11 Feb 1970	L-4S (26 kg)		First launch was 1966 (failed 4 times).
24 Apr 1970	CZ-1 (0.3 t)		First launch failed in 1969.
26 July 1975	FB-1 (2.5 t)		Suborbital flight was performed in 1972. CZ-2A(LEO 2t) failed in 1974.
9 Sep 1975		N-I (GEO 0.13 t)	LEO 1.2t First GTO launch was Feb 23 1977.
11 Feb 1981		N-II (GTO 0.54 t)	LEO 2 t First GTO launch was Aug 10.
8 Apr 1984	CZ-3 (LEO 5 t / GTO 1.5 t)		virtually GTO use First launch failed at Jan 29.
16 Jul 1990	CZ-2E (LEO 9.2 t / GTO 3.5 t)
4 Feb 1994	H-II (LEO 10 t / GTO 3.9 t)
20 Aug 1997	CZ-3B (LEO 12 t / GTO 5.2 t)		virtually GTO use First launch failed in 1996.
18 Dec 2006	H-IIA204 (LEO 15 t / GTO 5.8 t)
10 Sep 2009	H-IIB (LEO 19 t / GTO 8 t)
planned 2015[49]	CZ-5 (LEO 25 t / GTO 14 t)

Comparison of key technologies

First achieved attempts (or future plans) of each country are listed by chronological order unless otherwise noted.

Manned spacecraft programs

•  China - 2003 - Shenzhou
•  India - 2015 (approved)^[50] - Orbital Vehicle
•  Japan - 2020^[51] - JAXA manned HTV now, Fuji was
•  Iran - 2021 - ISA manned spacecraft

Space shuttle programs

Including shuttle-shaped hypersonic reentry vehicles reach to space.

•  Japan - 1996^[52] - HYFLEX under HOPE-X program
•  India - 2010/11 - AVATAR RLV (approved by ISRO)
•  China - ? - Shenlong, Project 921-3

Orbiters to Moon

•  Japan - 1990 - Hiten/Hagoromo
•  China - 2007 - Chang'e 1
•  India - 2008 - Chandrayaan-1

Orbiters to Mars

•  Japan - 1998 - Nozomi
•  China - 2011- Yinghuo-1^[53]
•  India - 2013-2015 - Mars mission^[21]

Intentional Moon landings

•  Japan - 1993 - Hiten (systematically crashed on end-mission)
•  India - 2008 - MIP (Moon impactor)
•  China - 2009 - Chang'e 1 (systematically crashed on end-mission)

Lunar Soft landing programs

•  China - 2013 - Chang'e 3
•  India - 2013 - Chandrayaan-2
•  Japan - 2013 - Selene-2^[54][55]

Multi-satellite simultaneous launches (by number)

•  India - 10 Satellites (PSLV-CA C9, 2008)
•  Japan - 8 Satellites (H-IIA F15, 2009)^[56]
•  People's Republic of China - 3 Satellites (1981)

The heaviest satellite launch vehicle in each country (in active, by capacity)

•  Japan - H-IIB - LEO 19t / GTO 8t (2009 - active)
•  China - CZ-3B - LEO 12t / GTO 5.1t (1996 - active)
•  India - GSLV - LEO 5t / GTO 2.5t (2001 - active)
•  Israel - Shavit - LEO 0.4t (1988 - active)
•  Iran - Safir-I - LEO 27 kg (2008 - active)
•  South Korea - KSLV-1 - LEO 0.1t (2009 - active)
•  North Korea - Taepodong-2(Unha-2) - ? (2006 - active)

Continuous satellite launch success (by number)

•  China - Long March - 75 times for 13 years (1996–2009)
•  Japan - N, H and Mu - 33 times for 15 years (1979–1994)
•  India - ASLV, PSLV and GSLV - 12 times for 12 years (1994–2005)
•  Israel - Shavit - 3 times for 8 years (1988–1995)
•  Iran - Safir - 2 times for 3 years (2009–2011)

Other comparable technologies (alphabetical order)

Nation	Multi-satellite simultaneous launches	Launch of foreign satellite	Geostationar launches	Atmos- pheric reentry	Rendezvous dockings in orbit	Satellite navigation system	Data relay satellites	Martian missions	Solar research missions	Space observatories
China	1981 (FB-1)[57] 3 Sats	1990 CZ-2E science satellite	1984 Dong Fang Hong 02 (by CZ-3)	1975 FSW-0	2011 Tiangong 1	2000 Beidou	2008 Tianlian I	2011 (planned) Yinghuo-1 (orbiter)	20xx ? (planned) Solar Space Telescope	2010 (planned) Space Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope
India	1999 (PSLV-CA C2) 3 Sats	1999 PSLV KitSat 3 DLR-Tubsat	2001 GSAT (by GSLV)	2007 SRE-1	planned	2010 (planned) IRNSS[58]	2002 KALPANA-1[59]	2013-2015[21] (orbiter)	2012 (planned) Aditya	2010 TAUVEX 2010 (planned) Astrosat
Japan	1986 (H-I H15F)[60] 3 Sats	2002 H-IIA FedSat	1977 ETS-II[61] (by N-I)	1994 OREX	1997 ETS-VII[62]	2010 QZSS[63]	2002 Kodama	1998 Nozomi (flyby)	1975 Taiyo[64]	1979 Hakucho

? : Date not Fixed, only presumptions
{only projects with under-development or above status have been listed}

Solar System explorations

Solar System explorations are major space technology in the public eye as well as manned spaceflight. Since Sakigake, the first interplanetary probe in Asia, was launched in 1985, Japan has led Asian planetary explorations, but other nations are catching up now.

The Moon race

The Moon is thought to be rich in Helium-3, which could one day be used in nuclear fusion power plants to fuel future energy demands in Asia, which is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, and harbors over 60% of the world's population. All three main Asian space powers plans to send man to Moon in far future and sent lunar probes already and in nearest future.

Probing the moon

Japan is the first Asian country to launch a lunar probe. The Hiten (Japanese: "flying angel") spacecraft (known before the launch as Muses-A), built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan, was launched on January 24, 1990. The mission did not go as it was planned in many aspects. Kaguya, is the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft and was launched on September 14, 2007.

China launched its first lunar probe named Chang'e-1 on October 24, 2007 and successfully entered lunar orbit on November 5, 2007.

India launched its first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 on October 22, 2008 and successfully entered its final lunar orbit on November 2, 2008. The mission did not go as it was planned, and signal to the satellite was loss less than midway through the mission. However, it was able to successfully complete 95% of its objectives and is hence considered a major success.

Moon landings

Main article: Moon landing

The first confirmed moon landing in Asia was Hiten's additional mission in 1993. It was a intentional hard landing at end of mission and some pictures of lunar surface were taken until impact,^[65] but Hiten was not designed for moon lander and had few scientific instruments for lunar exploration. Japanese next moon landing program, except crash at end of mission, was LUNAR-A developed from 1992. Although the LUNAR-A orbiter was cancelled, its landers(penetrators) are integrated into Russian Luna-Glob program and scheduled to launch in 2011. The penetrators are "relatively" hard landers^[66] but they will not be destroyed at moon landing as same as soft landers.

The first achieved Asian probe specialized for moon landing was Indian Moon Impact Probe (MIP) released from Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. MIP was only a hard lander destroyed at landing such as Galileo's entry probe, but its instruments performed lunar observation within 25 min until impact and the landing test will be applied to future soft landings such as Chandrayaan-2 planned in 2012.

Chinese Chang'e-1 spacecraft also achieved systematical hard landing at end of mission in 2009 and China became 6th country reached at lunar surface. One of the landing purpose was pre-test of future soft landings as same as MIP. Chinese lunar soft lander is scheduled to achieve in Chang'e-3.

Asian on the Moon

Over four decades after Neil Armstrong has become the first man to walk on the Moon, Asia's major powers hurry in their own space ambitions to send the first Asian to the Moon. China, Japan, and India, which have already sent orbiters, all have plans to send a manned spacecraft to the Moon; the earliest schedules (China, India and Japan) would have the first manned lunar spaceflight in the 2020s.

Exploration of the major planets

Japanese interplanetary probes have been limited to Small Solar System bodies such as comets and asteroids. JAXA's Nozomi probe was launched in 1998, but contact was lost with the probe due to electrical failures before visiting the planet Mars. The second Japanese probe for the planet Venus, Akatsuki, was launched in 2010.

Chinese scientists expect that China will take 20 years to launch independent planetary probes.^[67] But China may reverse the disadvantage of 44 years total in comparison with Japan. The Russian Phobos Grunt mission will bring the Chinese Yinghuo-1 probe to Mars centric orbit and is planned to launch in 2011. If successful, China will become the first country in Asia and 4th country in the world to own a "Mars orbiter". Moreover, the Chinese manned Mars exploration program is planned for c. 2050 by Chinese Academy of Sciences.^[68]

India is also planning a Mars orbiter, which will be launched in 2013 at the earliest.^[69]

On the other hand, the first student planetary probe in the world may come from Asia. The PLANET-C probe is planned to bring the UNITEC-1 student spacecraft to Venus.^[70]

Asian space agencies and programs

•  Bangladesh - Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO)
•  People's Republic of China - China National Space Administration (CNSA) (Chinese space program)
•  India - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
•  Indonesia - National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN)
•  Iran - Iranian Space Agency (ISA)
•  Israel - Israeli Space Agency (ISA)
•  Japan - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
•  Malaysia - Malaysian National Space Agency (MNSA)
•  North Korea - Korean Committee of Space Technology (KCST)
•  Pakistan - Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
•  Philippines - Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
•  South Korea - Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
•  Republic of China - National Space Organization (NSPO)
•  Thailand - Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA)

See also

Spaceflight portal

• Space Race

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38. ^ India, Russia Agree On Joint Development Of Future Glonas Navigation System
39. ^ NASA - NASA To Work With India on Moon Mission
40. ^ 返回式卫星 (China's First Atmospheric Reentry Satellite)
41. ^ Harbin Institute of Technology -> FSW satellite series (Note: the definition of high resolution (ground resolution) < 4.5m)
42. ^ Beidou navigation system first goes to public, with resolution 0.5m (from official Xinhua News Agency), with photos
43. ^ 中国首次“一箭三星”发射成功 (China's First One-Rocket-Three-Satellite Launch). Science and Technology Daily
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56. ^ JAXA Piggyback payload (GOSAT special Site) -
57. ^ 泄露“一箭三星”秘密的秘件
58. ^ India To Build Constellation Of Seven Navigation Satellites
59. ^ http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k5/mar/mar170.htm
60. ^ JAXA H-I Launch Vehicle
61. ^ JAXA Engineering Test Satellite II "KIKU-2"(ETS-II)
62. ^ JAXA Engineering Test Satellite VII "KIKU-7"(ETS-VII)
63. ^ JAXA Launch Schedule
64. ^ JAXA Solar Observation TAIYO (SRATS)
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External links

• Japan's Evolving Space Program, Comparison of Japan's program with the rest of Asia (September 2011)