TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/020590/0205320.000

Text File | 1992-08-28 | 5.6 KB | 121 lines

                                                                                SPACE, Page 58

Japan Goes to the Moon


A late space program takes off -- and bears watching


    The Japanese have a way of making big moves quietly. Only
a handful of onlookers stood in the cold one evening last week
to watch a slim red-and-silver rocket roar off the pad at the
Kagoshima Space Center near Uchinoura, some 940 km (598 miles)
southwest of Tokyo. But despite the minimal press coverage and
lack of hoopla, the event was a major milestone for Japan's
space program. The launch sent the unmanned Muses-A probe on
its way to the moon, the first lunar mission since the Soviets'
Luna 24 in 1976. Muses-A is expected to come within 16,000 km
(10,000 miles) of the target in mid-March. It will then  release
a smaller probe, which will go into lunar orbit. If all goes as
planned, Japan will become only the third country in history to
reach earth's closest neighbor.

    That will be just one step in a sweeping initiative that
could eventually make Japan one of the premier powers in space.
Muses-A is a prelude to future unmanned missions that may land
on the moon and explore the atmosphere of Venus. At the same
time, Japan is building a new booster rocket that could make
the country a strong competitor in the burgeoning business of
launching commercial satellites into earth orbit. The Japanese
have announced no plans for manned space flights, but they are
considering the possibility. Already their companies have begun
developing construction techniques for use in building bases
on the moon and even Mars.

    In short, the Japanese are pursuing their space ventures
with all the thoroughness and enthusiasm that made them world
leaders in electronics and autos. Says Ray Williamson, a senior
analyst for the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology
Assessment: "The U.S. ought to keep a clear eye on their
developing capabilities. Progress is steady, and the Japanese
are serious about space."

    Japan's progress is all the more impressive considering the
obstacles its program has faced over the years. The U.S. and
the Soviet Union originally used military-rocket technology to
get a head start on scientific launches. But Japan's
constitutional curbs on military activity forced its rocket
scientists to start from scratch, and tight government budgets
have not helped. In the current fiscal year, for example, Japan
has allocated some $1.07 billion for space, about 10% of the
U.S. figure. And launches are limited to only 90 days a year,
half in winter and half in summer, because tuna fishermen near
the space center claim that rockets are dangerous and scare
away fish.

    Another problem has been the more than two decades of
bureaucratic rivalry between two Japanese space groups, the
National Space Development Agency and the Institute of Space
and Astronautical Science. ISAS focuses on academic scientific
research, like the Muses-A mission, while NASDA's main business
is to launch satellites for more practical uses, such as
weather observation and communications. Combining these
agencies and eliminating overlapping functions would make for
a more efficient program.

    For all those reasons, Japan was a late bloomer in space.
It did not put its first satellite into earth orbit until 1970,
six months after the U.S. landed men on the moon. But Japan has
come on fast by stressing efficiency and borrowing rocket
technology from other nations. For example, the country's
workhorse launcher, the H-1, is a modified version of the
30-year-old U.S. Delta rocket. Most striking is Japan's record
of consistency: ISAS has had only two failures in 19 launches,
both in the 1970s.

    The country is now trying to free itself from dependence on
foreign know-how by developing its own booster. The H-2,
scheduled for its first test launch in 1993, will be able to
put a two-ton spacecraft into high earth orbit. That is
competitive with Europe's Ariane 4, the U.S. Titan and the
Soviets' Proton booster, all of which are being marketed as
commercial launchers.

    While the Japanese are becoming more independent, they are
also starting cooperative ventures in areas where their
experience and resources are insufficient to go it alone. They
will help design the U.S.-Japanese Geotail satellite, which
will explore the earth's magnetic field in 1992. They have
agreed to build part of the proposed U.S. space station. And
ISAS may contribute equipment to an unmanned Soviet Mars probe
in 1994.

    Some Japanese companies, meanwhile, are trying to get the
inside track on international missions that have not even been
scheduled yet. Shimizu, a construction firm, has opened a
space-projects section to develop ideas for a moon base, either
Japanese or American. The company has already begun work on how
concrete made from lunar soil could be used to form large
structures. Ohbayashi, also in the construction business, will
join American companies in building a $100 million facility for
lunar-base research in Florida.

    U.S. scientists and officials do not feel much threatened
by Japan's space ambitions. Its participation will help hold
down the costs of future U.S. missions, and scientific data
from exclusively Japanese probes will be available to all.
Despite its many achievements, Japan remains significantly
behind both the U.S. and the Soviet Union in space technology.
Still, given the country's record in other areas, it may be a
Japanese crew that first sets foot on Mars early in the coming
century.


By Michael D. Lemonick. Reported by Seiichi Kanise/Uchinoura.