TOKYO: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said on Thursday that its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe has successfully landed close to its target on the lunar surface.
The space agency said SLIM achieved an unprecedented “precision” landing within 100 meters of its target.
What we know about the landing
Immediately after landing, there were concerns that the probe might not make it.
“SLIM succeeded in a precision soft landing… the landing point is confirmed to be 55 meters from the target point,” the space agency said.
However, the probe’s solar panels were unable to generate electricity because they were facing the wrong way.
The moon landing just after midnight Japan time last Saturday made Japan the fifth country to place a craft on the lunar surface after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India.
However, the celebrations were dampened due to a problem with the light spacecraft’s solar batteries, which were unable to generate power.
JAXA shut down the craft with 12% power remaining to allow for possible recovery when the angle of the sun changes.
What’s so special about landing?
JAXA said the craft’s landing technology could allow lunar missions to land “where we want, rather than where it’s easy to land.” SLIM could be a powerful tool for future exploration of the hilly poles of the Moon. These areas are a potential source of the resources necessary to sustain life – water, oxygen and possibly fuel.
It will take up to a month to verify that SLIM has hit the high-precision targets, JAXA said.
Several Japanese attempts to land on the moon have failed, including last year when it sent the Omotenashi probe as part of the US Artemis program.
Omotenashi would have been the world’s smallest lunar lander, but lost contact.
In April, a Japanese startup called ispace failed in an ambitious attempt to become the first private company to land on the moon.
India’s historic landing came in August when its Chandrayaan-3 probe landed on the South Pole of the Moon. Earth has announced plans to build a space station by 2040.
