An artist's conception of what the Planet-B spacecraft looks like while orbiting Mars.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA

Related links:

Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science

Japan's National Space Development Agency of Japan

Japanese Space Program Takes Off...
News story originally written on July 13, 1998

The Japanese space program is taking off! Just last week, Japan launched a probe called Planet-B. Planet-B is on its way to Mars. Planet-B will reach Mars in October making Japan the third country to reach another planet. Do you know what the other two countries to reach other planets are? The answer is Russia and the United States!

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