Washington: Japanese space agency has announced that the nation will put an unmanned rover on the surface of the moon by 2018, joining the group of countries that have explored Earth's satellite.
According to CNN, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) revealed the plan to a panel that included members of the cabinet and the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
A spokesperson from JAXA said that it was an initial step and many procedures were ahead before the formal approval of the plan.
If the plan is approved, the agency will reportedly use its Epsilon solid-fuel rocket technology to carry and deploy a Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe on the surface of the celestial body.
JAXA has also put a probe on an asteroid, which returned to Earth in 2010.
