Japan's SLIM Spacecraft Achieves Historic Precision Lunar Landing
Despite landing upside down, JAXA remains hopeful for mission recovery as two deployed rovers continue operations.
Overview
- Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft successfully landed on the moon, making Japan the fifth nation to achieve a soft lunar landing.
- SLIM landed within 55 meters of its target, demonstrating unprecedented precision in lunar landing technology.
- Despite the successful landing, SLIM ended up upside down, causing its solar panels to face away from the sun and preventing power generation.
- Two small rovers, LEV-1 and LEV-2, were successfully deployed from SLIM before landing and are currently operating as planned.
- JAXA is hopeful that SLIM's solar panels might be able to absorb enough sunlight to generate power and recover the mission when the sun's angle changes.