Japan space agency suspends launch attempt for rocket carrying moon lander

Japan’s space agency suspended a planned launch on Monday of an H-IIA rocket that was to carry a moon lander into space, according to launch operator Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

The launch was cancelled because wind conditions in the upper atmosphere did not satisfy constraints, MHI’s launch services unit said in a post on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, 24 minutes before the planned launch time.

H-IIA No. 47 was planned to be launched from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 9:26 a.m. local time (0026 GMT) on Monday.

MHI will provide further details, JAXA said during its YouTube livestream.

The rocket is carrying JAXA’s lunar landing spacecraft Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) and an X-ray imaging satellite.