As the sixth nation to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon, Japan has achieved a major milestone in space exploration. Using more precise technology than any before mission, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed in the Shioli crater, south of the lunar equator, marking the first landing site approach.

After a four-month voyage from the Tanegashima Space Centre, SLIM landed at its targeted spot, according to Lunar Arrival and Power Struggle Telemetry data.

The landing went well, although there was a possible setback when the spacecraft had a power outage. Since the solar cells weren’t producing any power, SLIM had to rely on its battery, which was only expected to survive for a short while longer.

Japan

Conversations and the Prospect of Healing

According to Hitoshi Kuninaka, VP of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), SLIM has been successfully connecting with the ground station and accurately carrying out directives.

Nevertheless, scientists are keeping a close eye on the situation, hoping against hope that the spacecraft’s solar panels might begin functioning again.

Achievements in Lunar Exploration by Asia

This accomplishment was deemed a “big win for Asia” by Namrata Goswami, a space policy scholar at Arizona State University.

Landings of spacecraft on the Moon have only been accomplished by Japan, India, and China in the previous ten years, with India’s achievement coming as recently as August of last year.

Cutting-Edge Technology in Action SLIM’s principal objective was to improve upon earlier missions by achieving a previously unseen landing precision of 100 meters.

The spacecraft swiftly located itself by comparing photographs taken of the lunar surface with maps stored onboard using vision-based navigation technologies.

A Two-Step Procedure for Landing

SLIM used a novel two-stage landing procedure. Instead of landing on all fours on a level surface like other craft, SLIM was engineered to hit a 15-degree slope outside the Shioli crater with one rear leg before settling onto the four front legs.

The solar cells on SLIM may have been damaged since the spacecraft rolled during touchdown, according to observers.

Objectives in Science and Possible Recuperation

To take pictures of the lander, two miniature robots were supposed to jump out of SLIM before touchdown.

In the Moon’s mantle, scientists intend to look for the mineral olivine using SLIM’s specialist camera. Recovering SLIM would allow it to provide important information regarding the chemical and historical makeup of the Moon.