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 Orbital Platform-Gateway Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G) is a proposal for a lunar-orbit space station intended to serve as an all-in-one solar-powered communications hub, science laboratory, short-term habitation module, and holding area for rovers and other robots. The science disciplines to be studied on the Gateway are expected to include planetary science, astrophysics, Earth observations, heliophysics, fundamental space biology and human health and performance. The Gateway is designed to be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with commercial and international partners. It will also serve as the staging point for crewed and robotic lunar exploration and a staging point