2024-01-29 16:26:00
The Intelligent Moon Research Lander (SLIM) is seen in this image taken by LEV-2 on the Moon, released on January 25, 2024. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), TAKARA TOMY, Sony Group, Doshisha University /via REUTERS
Japan’s lunar rover Rober is up and running Monday after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power.
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Japan’s first lunar mission reached its goal in a precision landing on January 20, but landed in the wrong position, leaving its solar panels unable to see the sun.
But with the dawn of lunar day, it appears the probe has power.
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Monday that it managed to establish communication with the probe on Sunday night and that the spacecraft resumed its mission, taking photographs of the Moon’s surface and transmitting them to Earth.
Image of the lunar soil sent by an instrument aboard the Japanese SLIM module. JAXA
After a last-minute engine failure caused the Intelligent Moon Research Lander, or SLIM, to make a rougher landing than planned, JAXA used battery power to gather as much data as possible about the landing and the surroundings of the probe. The spacecraft then shut down to wait for the sun to rise higher in the lunar sky in late January.
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Energized, SLIM has continued work to analyze the composition of olivine rocks on the lunar surface with its multiband spectral camera, searching for clues to the origin and evolution of the Moon, the agency said. Previous observations suggest that the Moon may have formed when Earth collided with another planet.
A black and white photograph posted by JAXA on social media showed the moon’s rocky surface, including a rock the agency said it had named “Toy Poodle” after seeing it in initial images. The probe is analyzing six rocks, all of which have been given names after dog breeds.
SLIM is expected to have enough sunshine to continue operations for several Earth days, possibly until Thursday. JAXA said it is unclear whether the spacecraft will return to service after another extremely cold lunar night.
Daichi Hirano, Hitoshi Kuninaka, Shinichiro Sakai and Masatsugu Otsuki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), smile in front of a screen showing an image taken by LEV-2 on the moon, after their press conference about the mission SLIM moon landing site, in Tokyo, Japan, January 25, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
SLIM landed about 60 yards (55 meters) from its target, between two craters near Shioli Crater, a region covered in volcanic rock. Previous lunar missions typically targeted flat areas at least 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide.
SLIM carried two autonomous probes, which were launched just before landing, recording the landing, surroundings and other lunar data.
The moon landing made Japan the fifth country in the world to reach the lunar surface, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India.
(with information from AP)
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