Hiten

Hiten (Japanese第13号 科学 衛星 ひてん( MUSES -A), Dai -13- gō kakaku Eisei Hiten ( Muses -A), dt 'science satellite No. 13 Hiten ( Muses -A) ") was a Japanese space probe that was active in the vicinity of the Moon between 1990 and 1993.

Mission

When Hiten it was a technology experiment. The probe was only an S- band transponders as payload. The scientific mission was limited to the measurement of dust particles between the Earth and the Moon. Hiten should first pass of a Earth orbit near the moon, where the daughter of the probe Hagoromo (はごろも) suspend. Later Hiten itself was conveyed by means of a swing -by maneuver on the earth in orbit around the moon.

Hiten wore before the start of the name of Muses -A, was promoted with a Mu - 3S2 rocket into space. The probe weighed 200 kg.

Course

• Hiten started on January 24, 1990 in an orbit around the Earth.
• The first close flyby of the moon took place on 19 March 1990. The weighing 12 kg daughter Hagoromo probe was suspended. Hagoromo struck an orbit around the moon. The contact for this lunar satellite, however, was lost on the same day.
• After the swing- by maneuver on the ground also Hiten reached on 15 February 1992, a orbit around the Earth's moon.
• The probe struck on the moon on April 10, 1993.

Result

The mission Hiten was seen by the Japanese on the whole successful, even when the remote probe failed already on 21 February 1990 and the communication with Hagoromo did not work. A detailed exploration of the Moon by Japan was announced with the mission LUNAR -A for 1997 and SELENE for 2007. However, the development of penetrators for Lunar -A proved more difficult than expected. For this reason, the start of the probe has been postponed several times. The mother ship itself was stored. In early 2007 the start was abandoned entirely due to the decay of the probe. Japan plans developed penetrators in other missions to integrate. SELENE was launched in 2007.