Japan’s lunar lander, SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon), has made a remarkable comeback by reestablishing contact with its mission controllers on Earth. The lander successfully survived a harsh two-week lunar night, marking a significant achievement for Japan as it became only the fifth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon.
SLIM encountered a hiccup during its touchdown, toppling over upon landing. This unexpected event raised concerns at JAXA, Japan’s NASA equivalent, about the mission's continuity. However, after a brief outage following the landing, JAXA managed to establish contact with SLIM, allowing the lander to transmit several images back to Earth. Unfortunately, as the lunar night set in, SLIM lost power once again as the sun moved away from its solar panels.
Despite uncertainties about SLIM's survival during the freezing lunar night, the team received a pleasant surprise when the lander responded to a command, confirming its successful passage through the lunar night. JAXA shared this exciting news on social media, highlighting the resilience of their spacecraft.
Although communication was brief due to high equipment temperatures, the mission holds promise for fulfilling more objectives, such as conducting high-resolution spectroscopic observations, once conditions improve. Notably, SLIM has already achieved its primary goal of demonstrating new technology for precision landings. Despite the slight deviation from the descent plan, SLIM managed to touch down with impressive accuracy within 32.8 feet (10 meters), surpassing the precision of earlier lunar missions targeting landing zones across several miles.
By achieving a soft lunar landing, Japan has joined an exclusive group that includes the U.S., Russia, China, and India. Recently, the U.S. celebrated another milestone when a mission by Texas-based Intuitive Machines became the first commercial venture to land on the lunar surface. Although both SLIM and Intuitive Machines' landings faced challenges, they signify remarkable progress in lunar exploration.
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