Tokyo: Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander.
The launch of the HII-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan was shown on live video by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA.
“We have a liftoff,” the narrator at JAXA said as the rocket flew up in a burst of smoke then flew over the Pacific.
Thirteen minutes after the launch, the rocket put into orbit around Earth a satellite called the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, which will measure the speed and makeup of what lies between galaxies
That information helps in studying how celestial objects were formed, and hopefully can lead to solving the mystery of how the universe was created. JAXA says.
In cooperation with NASA, JAXA will look at the strength of light at different wavelengths, the temperature of things in space and their shapes and brightness
David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University, believes the mission is significant for delivering insight into the properties of hot plasma, or the superheated matter that makes up much of the universe.
Plasmas have the potential to be used in various ways, including healing wounds, making computer chips and cleaning the environment.
Meanwhile, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) congratulated JAXA for successful launch of X-ray imaging and Spectroscopy Mission.
Congratulations @JAXA_en on the successful launch of the SLIM lander to the moon.
Best wishes for another successful lunar endeavour by the global space community. https://t.co/7HSjtoFHx7— ISRO (@isro) September 7, 2023
