Japan has just taken a big step in the lunar race after becoming the fifth country to set foot on the moon. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported that the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) had successfully landed on the moon after a four-month journey.
[SLIM Moon landing: live broadcast Jan. 19, 2024 from 23:00 JST]
A live broadcast during the moon landing operations for the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) and press conference will be streamed live on the#JAXA YouTube channel #SLIMlivehttps://t.co/QI2KU8peO2— JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) (@JAXA_en) January 19, 2024
Twenty minutes after the landing, President of JAXA Hiroshi Yamakawa confirmed that the lunar landing had been completed successfully and that the spacecraft was able to send signals after its descent: "I think this was a big step forward," he said in statements reported by NBC.
Problems during the landing on the moon
The mission also had complications. According to the Japanese organization, the solar panel capabilities seemed to be impaired upon landing. This caused the spacecraft to rely solely on battery power. Hitoshi Kuninaka, a JAXA official, told AFP:
Solar cells are not generating power and data acquisition from the lunar surface is given priority. The SLIM is operated with on-board batteries. The data acquired on landing is stored in the spacecraft, and we are currently working to maximize the scientific results by first transmitting this data back to Earth.
However, the mission is still a success for Japan. The fact that SLIM managed to land on the moon makes the Japanese country the fifth to achieve this milestone, only behind the United States, Russia, China and India, which also recently managed to successfully land the Chandrayaan 3 mission on the moon.
