Rodney Rafols Science 11.03.2016 01:Nov AM EDT

First Japanese Rocket With Manga Art Images Launched

Manga and anime have been very much a part of Japan's culture. It has influence that goes beyond Japan. This popularity is now being used to promote awareness, as the first Japanese rocket with manga art images has been launched.

The Japanese rocket is the H-IIA which is carrying with it a weather satellite. The weather satellite is the Himawari-9. Liftoff has been made from the Tanegashima Space Center at 6:20 a.m. GMT.

The H-IIA is one of the rockets that has been created by Japan. Manga artwork has been made by Chuya Toyama and has been done to create awareness among kids about space. This is especially for those who aspire to be astronauts in the future.

The images were done by making a collage of 30,000 photographs of kids in Japan, according to Digital Trends. The project has been done by the Young Astronauts Club Japan, which has been made to raise awareness and encourage space travel among kids.

On one of the images, the art depicts kids jumping around. The two art images measure about three meters tall, as Phys Org reports. Japan is one of the few countries that has a massive space program.

There is much interest in space recently, as private companies are gearing to join into a frontier that might prove to be lucrative. So far those who have gone into space are mostly trained to be astronauts, though NASA has sent people with other professions into space as well. Japan's effort to create more awareness among children might, later on, make space an even more crowded place.

This is the goal of the Young Astronauts Club Japan, as told by Hirokazu Kosada. He said that the aim of adding the manga art to the rocket is to make children more interested in it. He also said that it is possibly the first time that manga art has been launched into space.

As the race into space heats up, the first Japanese rocket with manga art images has been launched. Awareness of the Japanese space program among kids would ensure that its future would continue. Blue Origin has also been reported earlier to be ready for flights by 2017.