In a remarkable turn of events, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully re-established communication with its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), bringing an end to a week of silence following the historic lunar landing. SLIM made headlines on January 20 with a groundbreaking soft landing on the moon, making Japan the fifth nation to achieve this milestone.
The lunar touchdown, within a mere 55 meters of the target in a lunar crater, faced challenges as SLIM lost one of its main engines just before landing. Despite the setback, the lander safely touched down on a gentle slope, albeit in a tilted position with solar panels facing away from the sun, rendering them temporarily powerless.
For over a week, SLIM remained silent until a favorable change in sunlight angle allowed its solar panels to generate power again. Late on Sunday, JAXA confirmed the resumption of operations, with SLIM utilizing its multi-band spectral camera to analyze olivine rocks on the moon’s surface. This analysis is integral to JAXA’s mission to unravel the moon’s origin.
The successful re-establishment of contact underscores JAXA’s innovative vision-based “pinpoint” landing technology, envisioned to play a pivotal role in future lunar explorations, especially in the challenging terrains of the moon’s poles, which are potential sources of fuel, water, and oxygen for sustained human presence.
Despite the initial setback, SLIM’s recovery stands as a significant achievement for JAXA. Post-landing, the agency acted swiftly, manually disconnecting SLIM’s battery just 2 hours and 37 minutes after touchdown to preserve remaining power following data transmission to Earth.
As SLIM continues its mission, uncertainties persist regarding the duration of its operational capabilities on the lunar surface. The spacecraft was not designed to endure the extreme conditions of a lunar night, and with the next lunar night approaching on Thursday, the window for scientific data gathering is narrowing.
