TOKYO, August 28. /TASS/. The launch of the H2A carrier rocket with Japan's first lunar landing module called SLIM scheduled for Monday has been postponed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported.

According to it, this is due to unfavorable weather conditions in the area of the Tanegashima spaceport in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. In particular, there were strong gusty winds. The launch was scheduled for 9:26 a.m. local time (3:26 a.m. Moscow time). The postponement was announced 20 minutes before the launch of the rocket.

Earlier, JAXA reported that the launch of the lunar module could be carried out between now and September 15. Information about the new launch date has not yet been given.

The 2.4-meter, 200-kilogram SLIM device is designed to study the Moon's craters and topography using technologies similar to those used in facial recognition systems. SLIM is also equipped with a special camera that can measure the amount of iron and other elements in rocks on the lunar surface. The data obtained by the spacecraft will be used in particular as part of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lunar program Artemis.·The H2A rocket will also be used to orbit the XRISM X-ray telescope, which was built in cooperation with NASA.·Japan originally planned to send a module to the Moon in May, but the schedule was pushed back due to the failed launch of Japan's new H3 heavy-lift rocket. If the mission is successful, Japan will become the fifth country in the world to land its module on the Moon. Previously, the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India were successful.·In April 2023, the Japanese company Ispace launched the Hakuto-R module, which was supposed to be the world's first privately developed vehicle to land on the Moon. However, communication with it was lost as it probably crashed on contact with the lunar surface.