Japan halts ‘Moon Sniper’ mission launch due to high winds

Japan was forced to delay its lunar mission as high-speed winds threatened the safety of H-IIA rocket.

The launch was scrubbed 27 minutes before the planned lift-off.

While no fresh launch date has been announced so far, the Japanese space agency said it could be as late as September 15.

After the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3, Japan is aiming to be the fifth nation to land on the lunar surface for scientific exploration.

The mission, which has been dubbed “Moon Sniper,” aims to get Japan’s lander on the moon after a failed mission in April this year. The mission has already been delayed twice due to unfavourable weather conditions.

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“High-altitude winds hit our constraint for a launch... which had been set to ensure no impact from debris falling outside of pre-warned areas,” JAXA official Tatsuru Tokunaga said, as per Reuters.