On Friday, Japan Space Agency JAXA has launched the nation’s first lunar satellite. According to Japanese media the lunar orbiter, named Kaguya after a moon princess in an ancient Japanese folktale, carried by a H-2A rocket made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, about 700 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 45 minutes and 34 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the KAGUYA was confirmed.

“We successfully launched the rocket and released the orbiter from the rocket,” said Eriko Sunada, of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Initially JAXA intended to launch the probe in August but the problems caused by two components forces the Japanese scientists to postpone the launch. The previous setbacks for the country’s space program included an incident in 2003 when a rocket carrying two spy satellites was destroyed after it went off course.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that the Selenological and Engineering Explorer, Kaguya, would conduct the world's first full-scale and highest performing exploration of the moon since the US Apollo programme in the 1960s and 70s.

The main obejective of Kaguya is to probe the moon's surface, gather data on gravity and send back photos with a high-definition television camera.

JAXA said that Kaguya will start its Moon exploration in December and until then will orbit Earth twice.

The satellite is projected to descend into orbit 60 miles above the moon's surface, mapping uncharted polar areas, examining the makeup of the soil and searching for signs of ice.

The $272-million Kaguya project is the largest lunar mission - and the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission - since the Apollo program. Kaguya’s satellites will carry out 14 missions, including measuring the moon's gravity and determining its origin and evolution.

“Apollo's principal task was to send humans to the moon, and scientific experiments were the secondary aim. We need to research (the entire moon) in detail,” says JAXA's Professor Seiichi Sakamoto.

“We are trying to draw a map (of the moon) - with valuable information about what kinds of minerals exist in which areas or possible distributions of ice. Understanding the moon's origin and evolution is linked to understanding the Earth.” he added.

Earlier this month Roskosmos, the Russian space agency, announced it that its plans for the future include a manned mission to the Moon. Anatoly Perminov, the head of Roskosmos, said that Russia plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2025. Also Russia has plans to build a permanent manned base on lunar soil, until 2032.

NASA is planning to launch an unmanned mission to the Moon in the fall of 2008. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a robotic mission designed to create a new type of comprehensive, digital map of the Moon's features and resources, necessary to cost-effectively, but mostly will focus on selecting safe landing sites for future human missions. Also NASA hopes to return the Moon by 2020.

The other countries are also considering unmanned missions. Earlier this year British space scientists have said they plan to undertake the country's first mission to the moon by the end of the decade. Germany also plans an unmanned flight to the moon by 2013.