Lacking power, what comes next for Japan’s Slim lunar mission following its successful soft landing? As the fifth country to accomplish a soft landing on the moon, Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) spacecraft made a successful landing on Friday.
The spacecraft, which is carrying a number of equipment to research the Moon’s geology, ecology, and resources, including a magnetometer, camera, and laser altimeter, has landed, according to confirmation from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The Japanese space agency stated that Slim’s solar panel had failed to provide power, which might have limited its time on the moon.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) made a successful landing on the moon’s surface on January 20, 2024, at 0:20 am (JST), according to confirmation from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Following the landing, contact with the spacecraft has been established. Nevertheless, data collection from the SLIM on the moon is presently given precedence, as the solar cells are not producing any electricity at this time.
The space agency stated that a thorough examination of the collected data will be carried out in the future.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR SLIM?
According to Japanese space officials, the launch of the Slim’s little rovers went according to plan.
The agency has prioritized the transfer of Slim’s data to Earth, according to Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of JAXA’s research, because the probe only had a battery, which would only last for “a few hours” even with “life-sustaining treatments” like turning off its heating.
Kuninaka stated that rather than taking any chances, they will keep Slim as it is. The space agency is hoping that with a change in the angle of the sun, the solar panels will be able to function again and produce electricity.
But according to Kuninaka, “the solar angle on the moon changes every 30 days.” He explained that as a result, light may strike the solar cell when the sun shifts and shines from a different direction.
HAS SLIM SUCCEED IN ITS MISSION TO LAND?
The Japanese Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science describes the Slim project as an effort to investigate the precision landing technology required for next lunar probes and validate this on the moon’s surface using a small-scale probe.
Slim tried to land 328 feet (100 meters) away from its objective, as opposed to the usual many kilometers of precision.
“Looking at the trace data, Slim most certainly achieved a landing with 100-metre accuracy,” stated Kuninaka.
“Humans will make a qualitative shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land, as had been the case previously,” once the perfect landing is accomplished. Landings on planets with even less resources than the moon will be feasible,” the agency has previously stated.
It will take around a month to confirm if the spacecraft successfully completed this mission, though.
