An unmanned spacecraft captured and sent back data to analyze 10 lunar rocks, a larger-than-expected achievement that could help provide clues about the origin of the moon, a Japanese space agency official said on Wednesday.
According to Shinichiro Sakte, project director of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the smart lander (Slim), which landed on the moon last month, used its multi-band spectroscopic camera for four days to study the formation of rocks, and worked to examine lunar rocks.
The lunar mission is Japan’s first, and the spacecraft achieved a historically accurate landing on January 20, although it landed in the wrong direction, as its solar panels were initially unable to see the sun and were turned off after brief contact with Earth.
But on the eighth day, it started working, allowing it to successfully reconnect with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s command center on Earth.
A black-and-white image sent shortly after the Slim rover was reactivated showed the moon’s bumpy surface, including six rocks.
The rover eventually obtained data from 10 rocks, all of which were named after dog breeds, such as Akitino, Beagle, and Shibaino.
“We hope that analyzing the rocks will lead us to the origin of the Moon,” Sakai explained.
He added that by comparing the mineral compositions of moon rocks with those on Earth, it is possible to know whether the rocks contain common elements.
According to the “giant collision” hypothesis, it is believed that the Moon was formed as a result of the Earth colliding with another planet and the rotation of a smaller mass.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency team expected that the Slim spacecraft would study and analyze only one rock, so obtaining data on 10 rocks was a cause for celebration, which prompted the team to continue studying the origin of the moon.
