Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Wednesday that Japan will launch a moon exploration satellite on August 16th.

NHK said that the launch will mark the first moon exploration since the U.S. Apollo program ended in the 1970s.

The satellite, dubbed the "Kaguya," will take off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima and will be carried by the country's H-2A rocket.

The satellite will orbit around the moon to research it topography, underground structure and magnetic field and gravity distribution. It will also film the Earth’s rise over the lunar horizon.