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JAXA
NOS Wednesday, 08:50
The Japanese lunar lander SLIM is operational again after being shut down for days due to a power supply problem. The space agency JAXA writes this on X. The message contains a photo from a rock that is named toy poodle after the dog breed of the same name.
Japan became the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. But after the successful landing, the car-sized lander was shut down because its solar panels weren’t working properly. They couldn’t generate electricity because the solar cells were facing away from the sun were court.
The question was how long communication with Earth was possible. The lander was powered by batteries, which probably ran out after a few hours. Therefore, JAXA shut down the lunar lander until the angle of sunlight changed. The space agency would announce a week later whether SLIM could resume its mission. This has now happened.
Maangsteente
SLIM will study lunar rocks to learn more about the origin of the moon. Japan wants to play a larger role in space. It works with the American space agency NASA.
A Japanese astronaut is expected to walk on the moon in the coming years as a member of NASA’s Artemis project. The goal is to put more people on the moon.
The lunar lander flew with this rocket in September:
With this rocket, Japan wants to become the fifth country to land on the moon
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