Japan’s lunar rover, the “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon” (SLIM), is on the verge of shutting down tonight due to a solar power fault, threatening Japan’s recently achieved moon landing, The US Sun reported.
Despite achieving a “precision landing” within 100 meters of its target, SLIM stopped transmitting signals as its solar panels ran into difficulties generating electricity.
A solar panel failure has left SLIM unable to recharge its batteries and is expected to run out of power by tomorrow night, curtailing Japan’s inaugural lunar mission.
There are concerns that the rover’s solar panels may be misaligned, but there is optimism for a revival next month when the sun’s direction changes.
Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the space agency, explained the situation, stating: “It takes 30 days for the sun’s angle on the moon to change.
So if the direction of the sun changes and the light shines from a different direction, the light could end up hitting the solar cell.”
The space agency hopes that changes in the sun’s position can provide a lifeline for the stranded lunar rover.
