This article is more than 13 years old

This article is more than 13 years old

Japan's space agency today launched its much-delayed lunar probe in the most ambitious mission to the moon since the US Apollo space flights.

The Selenological and Engineering Explorer — or Selene — probe was launched on board an H-2A rocket from Tanegashima, the remote island location of the agency's space centre.

Footage of the launch carried live on the internet showed the rocket racing through slightly hazy skies. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the craft's engines and navigation systems appeared to be operating normally.

"We're very pleased with how the flight is proceeding so far. The satellite has separated from the rocket as expected," said the Jaxa spokesman Hiroshi Sekine.

The 32bn yen (£138.3m) Selene is designed to orbit twice around the Earth before going to the moon, a journey expected to take about three weeks. The launch came four years behind schedule.

The project is the most ambitious lunar mission since Apollo, which began in 1960, and bigger in scope than Russia's Luna programme or Nasa's Clementine and Lunar Prospector projects, according to Jaxa.

Selene involves placing the main satellite in orbit at an altitude of about 60 miles and deploying the two smaller satellites in polar orbits. Researchers will use data gathered by the probes to study the moon's origin and evolution. The main orbiter will remain in position for about a year.

Japan's mission comes at a time of renewed interest in the moon. China plans to send a probe, the Chang'e 1 to the moon, possibly this month.

The Chang'e 1 orbiter will use stereo cameras and x-ray spectrometers to map three-dimensional images of the lunar surface and study its dust.

China's official Xinhua news agency has reported that a manned probe could be launched within 15 years. Japan is also considering a manned mission by 2025.

Meanwhile, Google has launched a $20m (£9.9m) competition to send a robotic mission to the moon. To claim the prize, a team of researchers will need to send a rover to the moon, make it roam for a minimum of 500 metres and send video, images and data back to Earth, all before December 31 2012.