Japan’s space agency Jaxa has confirmed that the SLIM lunar module, which made a historic landing on the lunar surface on January 22, buried its nose into the ground upon landing.
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The module is 90 degrees away from the position it should be in for an ideal landing. And for now he can’t use solar panels as planned.
The SLIM lander flipped more than required. The thing is that during the hovering phase, already at the very lunar surface, one of its two main engines fell apart. The device managed, as programmed, to reduce the power to 55%, after which its nozzle fell off – as JAXA representatives say, for some external reasons.
JAXA remains hopeful that the Sun will move relative to SLIM and the solar panels will allow it to charge before February 1st.
The mission cost the Japanese space agency over $100 million.
Last week, Japan landed the Slim spacecraft on the moon. It became the fifth country to do this. The H-IIA launch vehicle with the SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) lander was launched on September 7, 2023. The module entered lunar orbit on December 25, and on January 19 it began to “mix in.” SLIM reached the surface of the Earth’s satellite in about 25 minutes.
During landing, the module had to test new precision navigation technologies based on the comparison of received images and land within a radius of 100 meters from the designated location in the Shiori crater area. Former NASA employee and SpaceWatch Global editor-in-chief Emma Gatti called the accuracy “unprecedented.”
During the subsequent mission, the module will study the soil at the landing site – the data obtained will help scientists learn more about the origin of the Moon.
In Japan, the lunar surface was reached by the USSR, USA, China and India.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.