Japan had its moment in the Moon’s glow earlier this year when scientists landed a lunar probe on the surface of our nearest celestial neighbor. The landing didn’t quite go to plan, though, as the probe landed face-first. After that, it was expected to survive for a matter of days. However, the probe is still … Read more
Japan’s Moon lander has been put back to sleep after it surprisingly survived the freezing, two-week lunar night, the country’s space agency said, with another operation attempt scheduled for later this month. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the … Read more
SLIM succeeded in a pin-point soft landing. Tokyo: Japan’s “Moon Sniper” craft landed around 55 metres (180 feet) from its target, the country’s space agency said Thursday as it released the first images from the mission. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed the “Moon Sniper” for its pin-point technology, had the goal … Read more
Japan recently became the fifth nation to successfully complete a soft landing on the moon’s surface, joining a select few countries — the U.S., Russia, China and India — in accomplishing this feat. But moon landings are likely to become more common over the next few years. Globally, more than 100 lunar missions, both by … Read more
“However, the solar cells are not generating power and data acquisition from the lunar surface is given priority,” it added. 02:35 Japan launches rocket carrying moon lander to explore origins of the universe Japan launches rocket carrying moon lander to explore origins of the universe “The SLIM is operated with on-board batteries. The data acquired … Read more
