Comparison of Asian national space programs to fuel future energy demands in Asia. All three main Asian space powers plan to send men to the Moon in the distant future and have already sent lunar probes. Japan was 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 24 January 1990. In many ways, the mission did not go as was planned. Kaguya, the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft, was launched on 14 September 2007. China launched its first lunar probe,
Lunar Lander (spacecraft) the Lunar Lander project. Germany, being the main contributor, was unable to find sufficient financial support for the program by other member states. The German delegation at the council was led by Peter Hintze, who stated that Germany was willing to contribute 45% of the mission's total cost but was unable to secure financial backing for the remaining 55% by other member states. Lunar Lander (spacecraft) The Lunar Lander was a robotic mission intended to send a lander vehicle to the Moon, led by ESA's Human Spaceflight and Operations directorate. The primary objective of the Lunar Lander mission was to