Posted: Thu, Apr 7, 2005, 8:29 AM ET (1229 GMT)
The Japanese government unveiled a proposed national space program this week that would include human missions to the Moon in 20 years. The plan, released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), calls for the development of a manned spacecraft in the next ten years, as well as unmanned missions to survey the Moon. At that time the agency would then decide whether to press ahead with manned spaceflights, including development of a lunar base by 2025. Several existing programs would be scrapped under the new plan, although the agency did not announce what those programs would be. The new plan would call for an annual budget of up to $2.6 billion a year, compared to $1.7 billion today.
