Japan leads Asia's race to the Moon

Asia's race to the Moon began yesterday when Japan launched an unmanned lunar probe, the most ambitious mission of its kind since the United States' Apollo missions of the 1970s.

The lunar orbiter Kaguya, named after a Moon princess in a Japanese fairytale, was launched from Japan's space centre on the small southern island of Tanegashima.

The 55 billion yen (£240 million) Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE), to give it its full name, will orbit the Earth twice before beginning a 20-day, 237,500-mile (380,000-km) journey to establish an orbit around the Moon.

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