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By Tim Wijkman-van Aalst
January 29, 2024 at 1:32 p.m. Update: 2 days ago
The Japanese space agency JAXA has regained contact with the SLIM lunar lander. The spacecraft landed on the moon earlier this month, but something went wrong with the solar panels. As a result, Japan lost contact with the probe shortly after landing.
Due to a problem, JAXA was unable to align the lunar lander’s solar panels with the sun. As a result, the space probe received no energy. Since the battery could only power the spacecraft for a few hours, contact was lost shortly after landing.
But because the position of the sun has changed at the lunar lander’s landing site, the solar panels now generate sufficient electricity. This allowed JAXA to reestablish contact with the lunar lander.
Japan will now try to read out as much research data as possible that the lunar lander has collected. There isn’t much time for that, because at the end of this month the lunar night will fall where the probe landed.
The lunar night at the landing site lasts about fourteen Earth days. During this time, the solar modules do not generate any energy. It will also be extremely cold. JAXA believes the probe will not survive these extreme conditions.
New landing technology for lunar landers
The main purpose of the SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) is to test new technologies for landing. During the landing, SLIM had to use automatic detection to detect craters and dangerous rocks on the lunar surface.
Using this automatic detection, the probe determined where it was and had to adjust if necessary. According to JAXA, this has been achieved.
The lunar lander landed just 55 meters from its target. In previous moon landings, spaceships sometimes landed kilometers away from the planned landing site.
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Research on the lunar surface
In addition to the new navigation technology for lunar landings, the SLIM has onboard instruments to conduct research on the lunar surface. The lunar lander uses a camera to examine the rocks around the crater in which it landed.
There were also reconnaissance vehicles on board that were supposed to explore the area. These vehicles were able to successfully free themselves shortly before landing, JAXA previously announced.
The SLIM spaceflight is Japan’s first mission to the lunar surface. The country had previously sent two satellites into orbit around the moon. In addition to Japan, the USA, the Soviet Union, China and India have also successfully landed a space probe on the moon.
Japanese landing technology could help future missions to the moon. Lunar landers do not necessarily have to go to safe flat areas, but can also visit the hills and craters of the moon. This allows lunar landers to reach places where more traces of water may be found.
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