Japanese Lunar Exploration Program 2007, after being delayed several times. SELENE-2, Japan's first lunar lander and rover, is expected to be launched in the 2020s. The program also includes a lunar sample return mission (SELENE-3), a mission to Mars to collect data for future manned expeditions (MELOS), participation in the Mars international sample return mission, and an advanced lander for future human missions to the Moon. The eventual goal is to participate in an international lunar outpost program, in which Japanese crews would stay on the lunar surface for a prolonged period of time and promote scientific research and environment utilization. SELENE (Selenological and
European Venus Explorer European Venus Explorer The European Venus Explorer (EVE), known until 2007 as the Venus Entry Probe (VEP), is a proposed European Space Agency space probe to Venus. In the timeline of the 2005 TRS (technology reference study), the spacecraft was proposed to be launched on a Soyuz-2/Fregat launch vehicle around 2013. However, requests to fund and develop the spacecraft in 2007 and 2010 were rejected. EVE was an Medium-Class mission proposal in the Cosmic Vision programme. The mission concept consitsted of an orbiter and balloon which would circumnavigate the planet over the course of one week, and a lander probe