Japan on Thursday launched a rocket with the rover expected to land on the moon after its fourth attempt this year, when previous attempts were hampered by bad weather.
Dubbed the "lunar sniper," the rover aims to land on Earth's satellite in February if all goes according to plan.
Foreign media reports that Japan has twice failed to reach the lunar surface last year amid setbacks to its space program.
The country aims to become the fifth country to land on the moon after the US, Russia, China and India. Two weeks ago, India made history when it successfully landed a spacecraft near the south pole of the Moon.
The Japanese spacecraft is expected to land 100 meters from a location near the Shioli Crater on the Moon.