Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) I just checked The car-sized Smart Lunar Exploration Lander (SLIM) arrived near Sioli Crater and safely released its two small robots. This historic feat marked Japan’s first lunar landing, making it the fifth country to ever reach the moon’s surface. However, according to JAXA officials, SLIM’s Moon Sniper is not without its problems.
JAXA Chairman Hiroshi Yamakawa said at a press conference, “At this point, it appears that the solar cells are not generating electricity.” Friday morning press conference. As such, it is currently running on battery power that is expected to last only “a few hours.”
“We are trying to make the most of our scientific achievements,” Hiroshi continued, according to a livestream translation from Japanese to English.
[Related: Peregrine lunar lander experiences ‘critical loss of propellant’ following successful launch.]
When asked whether the mission was a success or failure, JAXA officials considered the soft landing itself to be a success, explaining that “most of the equipment is functioning.” Engineers believe the solar cell issue is a “separate issue” and that SLIM is still sending and receiving data, including images, to Earth.
slim launched into earth orbit After several weeks of diagnostic tests and observations by JAXA engineers, SLIM began firing its engines and left Earth orbit on September 30, where it began a multi-day journey towards Earth. Month. The spacecraft has been in orbit around the moon since October 4, and began landing procedures at approximately 10:20 a.m. ET on January 19.
Friday’s achievement breaks the international record for consecutive failures of recent moon exploration missions. Less than 24 hours before SLIM’s soft landing, Astrobotic’s Peregrine spacecraft, originally destined for the moon, burned up on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Peregrine successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, but soon suffered a “significant loss of propellant” and was unable to reach its intended destination. In April 2023, the Japanese company ispace White peach R It reached lunar orbit, but crashed during a landing attempt.
Confirmation of the planned precision landing will be a key moment for Japan’s space program, even if SLIM’s solar battery problems significantly shorten its lifespan. JAXA officials estimate it could take about a month to learn whether SLIM landed within 100 meters of its destination. But officials were already expressing optimism about the outcome during a livestream Friday.
“Before, we would land wherever we could, but now we can land wherever we want,” a JAXA official said.