Exploration of the Moon with the Hiten spacecraft, becoming the third country to place an object in orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft released the Hagoromo probe into lunar orbit, but the transmitter failed, thereby preventing further scientific use of the spacecraft. In September 2007, Japan launched the SELENE spacecraft, with the objectives "to obtain scientific data of the lunar origin and evolution and to develop the technology for the future lunar exploration", according to the JAXA official website. The European Space Agency launched a small, low-cost lunar orbital probe called SMART 1 on September 27, 2003. SMART 1's primary goal was to take
Explorer 47 Explorer 47 Explorer 47, also known IMP-7 and Interplanetary Monitoring Platform IMP-H, was an American satellite launched as part of Explorers program. Explorer 47 as launched on 23 September 1972 on Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., with an Delta rocket. Explorer 47 was the seventh satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform. Explorer 47 continued the study begun by earlier IMP spacecraft of the interplanetary and magnetotail regions from a nearly circular orbit, near 37 earth radii. This 16 sided drum-shaped spacecraft was high and in diameter. It was designed to measure energetic particles, plasma and electric and magnetic fields. The spin