Japan's 'Moon Sniper' Set for Historic Lunar Landing

Pioneering 'Pinpoint Landing' Technology Could Revolutionize Future Lunar Missions

Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is set to make a historic landing on the lunar surface, marking Japan's first moon landing and making it the fifth country to achieve this feat.
The SLIM mission aims to unravel the origins of the moon through composition analysis of rocks and sampling of lunar permafrost, potentially unveiling mysteries about water resources on the moon.
The spacecraft is using a pioneering 'pinpoint landing' technology, aiming to land within 327 feet of its target, a small lunar impact crater called Shioli.
If successful, the technology used in the SLIM mission could facilitate future robotic probes to land precisely at their target sites, potentially aiding in the establishment of a lunar base.
The data collected through SLIM will also be used for NASA’s Artemis project, the U.S. effort to place astronauts on the surface of the moon and build a sustainable presence there.