The space agency announced on Monday that Japan’s Moon lander has regained functionality, allowing it to continue its mission of exploring the lunar surface despite encountering initial difficulties.
This unexpected development provided a much-needed boost to Japan’s space program, coming nine days after the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon made a landing with a tilted angle, causing its solar panels to face the wrong direction.
“Last evening we succeeded in establishing communication with SLIM, and resumed operations!” JAXA announced on social media platform X, sharing a grainy image of a lunar rock referred to as a “toy poodle”.
“We immediately started scientific observations with MBC, and have successfully obtained first light for 10-band observation,” it said, referring to the lander’s multiband spectroscopic camera.
– Moments of apprehension
SLIM’s touchdown on January 20 placed Japan as the fifth nation to achieve a “soft landing” on the Moon, following the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and India.
However, during its descent, known as the “20 minutes of terror”, the craft encountered engine issues and ended up at an uneven angle, as revealed in images released by JAXA.
As a result, the solar panels were positioned facing west instead of upwards, sparking concerns about their ability to receive sufficient sunlight for operation.
Last week, JAXA reported shutting down the elevator-sized SLIM with only 12 percent power remaining, in hopes that the craft would revive during the following week.
A JAXA spokesperson informed AFP on Monday that the SLIM operation resumed “presumably because power generation resumed in its solar battery as it received sunlight”.
“We will prioritize what we can do now — observing and collecting information — rather than adjusting SLIM’s position since adjusting the position could lead to a worse situation,” he explained.
“The daytime (where SLIM is on the Moon) will last until around the end of January and it will be at night from around February,” he added.
– Precision landing
In a step toward restoring its reputation after facing recent setbacks, JAXA disclosed last week that SLIM had landed 55 meters (yards) from its target.
This indicated that the “Moon Sniper” lived up to its nickname and landed within the 100-meter landing zone, a significantly more precise landing compared to the usual range of several kilometers (miles).
Prior to shutting down the craft, mission control managed to download technical and image data from SLIM’s descent and the lunar crater where it landed.
If it has sufficient power, SLIM can now commence its primary mission of investigating an exposed region of the Moon’s mantle, the inner layer typically situated deep beneath its crust.
Two probes also detached successfully, according to JAXA — one equipped with a transmitter and another designed to traverse the lunar surface while transmitting images to Earth.
– Transformative technology
This shape-shifting mini-rover, slightly larger than a tennis ball, was co-developed by the company responsible for the Transformer Toys.
Russia, China, and other countries from South Korea to the United Arab Emirates are also vying to reach the Moon.
US firm Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander began leaking fuel after takeoff this month, leading to the failure of its mission. It likely burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere upon its return.
NASA has also postponed plans for crewed lunar missions under its Artemis program.
Two previous Japanese lunar missions — one public and one private — have ended in failure.
In 2022, the nation unsuccessfully sent a lunar probe named Omotenashi as part of the United States’ Artemis 1 mission.
In April, a Japanese startup made an unsuccessful attempt to become the first private company to land on the Moon, losing communication with its craft after what it described as a “hard landing”.
AFP
