Japanese Lunar Exploration Program the LUNAR-A mission, and a small data relay satellite. SELENE-3 aims to return about 100 grams of samples from the Moon surface. It will be launched around 2020. However, due to financial issues JAXA is currently facing, this mission may be merged into the option-3 of SELENE-X. SELENE-X will be launched in the late 2010s, in view of Japan’s participation in Humans Lunar Activities foreseen. The SELENE-X may perform either of the following demonstrations: There are other options under study, and will be determined after the international exploration strategy has been clarified. MELOS (Mars Exploration with Lander-Orbiter Synergy) is a
Explorer 49 Explorer 49 Explorer 49 (also called Radio Astronomy Explorer-B(RAE-B)) was a 328 kilogram satellite launched on June 10, 1973 for long wave radio astronomy research. It had four 230-meter long X-shaped antenna elements, which made it one of the largest spacecraft ever built. "Explorer 49" was launched after the termination of the Apollo program, and although it did not examine the Moon directly, it became the last American lunar mission until the launch of Clementine spacecraft in 1994. This mission was the second of a pair of Radio Astronomy Explorer (RAE) satellites, "Explorer 38" or RAE-A being the first. "Explorer