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See Five Countries That Have Landed On The Moon

Published

2 years ago

January 20, 2024

Japan, whose unmanned “sniper” probe made a lunar touchdown on Saturday, is one of many countries and private companies launching new missions to the Moon.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, SLIM, craft used precision technology to make a soft landing. However, officials said its solar cells were not generating power.

The touchdown makes Japan the fifth nation to land on the Moon. The other four are the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India.

Modern lunar exploration programmes include plans to put humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972. And, eventually, establish bases there.

Here is a rundown of the latest moonshots:

United States

The first country to land on the Moon wants to build a sustained presence there as a pitstop for missions to Mars.

But it has faced two setbacks this month, as NASA postponed plans for crewed lunar missions. A private lander had to turn back after leaking fuel.

Under the US space agency’s Artemis programme, astronauts had been due to fly around the Moon this year. But the mission has been pushed back to 2025 to allow for extra safety checks.

A third Artemis voyage is now scheduled for 2026 instead of 2025. It would have put the first woman and first person of colour on lunar soil.

Even that may be optimistic. This is because the Artemis 3 lander, a modified version of SpaceX’s next-gen Starship rocket, has exploded in two test flights.

NASA says commercial tie-ups give it “more shots on goal” although its Peregrine lunar lander, made by US company Astrobotic, failed when it lost fuel after take-off.

The next attempt, by Texas-based Intuitive Machines, launches in February.

India

“India is on the Moon!” the country’s space agency chair announced to cheers at mission control in August. This was after Chandrayaan-3 became the first craft to land near the celestial body’s south pole.

The unmanned mission orbited Earth several times to build up speed for its journey. This resulted in a historic triumph for India’s ambitious, cut-price space programme.

In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to orbit a probe around Mars, and Chandrayaan-3 followed a successful launch into lunar orbit in 2008 and a failed Moon landing in 2019.

The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, has a dozen missions planned for 2024, including preparation for a three-day trip into Earth’s orbit — its first crewed space flight.

Russia

The Luna-25 mission in August was meant to mark Russia’s return to independent lunar exploration. This was nearly half a century after the Soviet Union last landed on the Moon.

However, the lander crashed on the rocky lunar surface, where it was meant to collect samples and analyse soil for one year.

The failure dealt a blow to Moscow’s hopes of building on the legacy of the Soviet-era Luna missions, as financial troubles and corruption scandals plague its space programme.

President Vladimir Putin has also been working to strengthen space cooperation with China after ties with the West broke down following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

China

The world’s second-largest economy has pumped billions of dollars into its military-run space programme as China chases its “space dream” under President Xi Jinping.

A decade since the Chang’e-3 became the first Chinese spacecraft to land on the Moon, the country is now pursuing plans to send a crewed mission by 2030 and build a base there.

In 2019, the unmanned Chang’e-4 landed on the far side of the Moon. A year later, Chang’e-5 brought the first lunar samples back to Earth in more than 40 years.

In October, the country sent a fresh team to its Tiangong space station in the latest crewed mission for the fast-growing space programme.

Japan

Japanese company ispace attempted a lunar landing in April last year. But it crashed, becoming the third private entity to have failed in the endeavour.

Space agency JAXA has suffered a run of bad luck, losing communication with its Omotenashi lunar probe carried on Artemis 1 in 2022.

It has also seen failures after lift-off of the next-generation H3 launch rocket and the normally reliable solid-fuel Epsilon rocket.

So hopes have been high for the success of its SLIM craft, nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” for its pin-point landing technology.

The mission will be closely studied by other countries from South Korea to the United Arab Emirates. This is as they ramp up efforts to be the next to make lunar history.

Headline

Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In US To $405,000 Romance Scam Against American Women

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

A40-year-old Nigerian man, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as money laundering, in connection with a romance scam that defrauded American women of more than $405,000.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in a statement on Thursday, said Inweregbu and his co-conspirators ran the scheme between July 2017 and December 2018, using a fake online persona named “Larry Pham” to lure victims on dating sites and social media targeting US citizens.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said that Inweregbu, described as a citizen of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025 before United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown to two of the counts pending against him.

The counts which include conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme, Attorney Simpson said were in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349 (Count 1), and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957, and 1956(h) (Count 12). INWEREGBU’s plea stemmed from his role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens.

According to court documents, a “romance scam” was a confidence scheme in which the perpetrator feigned romantic intentions towards a victim, gained their affection, and used the victim’s goodwill to commit fraud.

“These fraudulent acts might involve such acts as obtaining access to the victim’s money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, e-mail accounts, or national identification numbers; convincing the victim to transmit things of value to the perpetrator or his witting or unwitting co-conspirators; or inducing the victim to, unintentionally, commit or participate in the commission of financial fraud against third parties on behalf of the perpetrator,” the statement read.

It added, “Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu, and his co-conspirators, devised and operated a “romance scam” whereby they sought to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including 4 victims, by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises.

“Specifically, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators created profiles on social media and online dating sites using the alias “Larry Pham,” purportedly a middle-aged male, to attract middle-aged female victims.

“The co-conspirators, including Inweregbu, used online messaging platforms and email, to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship. If the victim responded favorably, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to “Larry Pham.”

“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed. Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses to the victims of over $405,000.

“Thereafter, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators laundered the funds, by conducting financial transactions using the proceeds of their wire and mail fraud scheme, designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds, by directing the victims’ funds through intermediaries.

“Inweregbu faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count. Sentencing before Judge Brown has been scheduled for December 4, 2025,” the partly read.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson, according to the statement praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the great support provided by United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the United States Department of State.

“Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution,” the statement noted.

Headline

UK Bars Over 100 Job Roles From Foreign Recruitment To Curb Migration

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The British government has unveiled major immigration reforms, blocking foreign workers from filling more than 100 job categories in a move aimed at reducing net migration.

The Home Office, in a statement posted on X Saturday morning, said the decision was geared towards creating more opportunities for local citizens while restructuring the visa regime.

“Cutting net migration means getting the fundamentals right.

“More than 100 occupations are no longer eligible for overseas recruitment – opening up more jobs for British workers. A fairer, skills-focused system is now taking shape,” the Home Office stated.

This policy marks the latest immigration clampdown under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who assumed office on July 5, 2024, after Labour’s sweeping election win that ended Rishi Sunak’s tenure.

However, the measure has drawn criticism, with opponents warning it could deepen staffing shortages in critical sectors such as healthcare and social services.

The Home Office has not yet published the full list of restricted occupations.

Headline

PM Killed In Israeli Strike, Say Yemen’s Huthis

Published

2 days ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The prime minister of Yemen’s Huthis was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with other officials earlier this week, the Iran-backed rebels announced on Saturday.

Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, who was appointed last year, is the most senior official known to have been killed in a series of Israeli strikes during the war in Gaza.

“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi… along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Huthi statement said.

“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.

The Israeli military struck in the area of Sanaa, the Huthi-held capital, on Thursday. The Huthis, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians, have frequently fired missiles and drones at Israel during the Gaza war.

Israeli forces “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”, the Israeli military said at the time.

The Huthis have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim is linked to Israel during the Gaza war.

The rebel group controls large parts of Yemen, which has been gripped by war since 2014, and is part of Iran’s anti-Israel alliance alongside militant groups across much of the Middle East.