Japanese Moon Lander Suffers Power Glitch After Touchdown
A robotic Japanese moon lander, known as the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM), encountered a power glitch immediately after touching down on the lunar surface. The power glitch prevented the lander’s solar cells from generating electricity, leaving it unable to function in the harsh lunar environment. Mission managers stated that SLIM’s batteries would be exhausted within hours of touchdown, rendering it powerless and incapable of transmitting data back to Earth.
Despite the setback, there is hope that the lander could “wake up” if it landed in the wrong orientation and the angle between the sun and solar cells improves over time. However, officials emphasized that this outcome is uncertain.
Hitoshi Kuninaka, director general of the Japan Aerospace Research Agency (JAXA), explained that although SLIM was unable to generate electricity, it was still able to communicate with Earth and respond to commands accurately. JAXA is working to retrieve stored data from the lander and maximize its scientific return.
The failure of SLIM follows the recent demise of the Peregrine lander, a privately-financed mission by Astrobotic. The Peregrine lander experienced a valve malfunction shortly after launch, causing a propellant tank to rupture. As a result, the lander was stranded in an elliptical Earth orbit and eventually burned up in the atmosphere. Astrobotic CEO John Thornton praised the efforts of flight controllers in keeping the spacecraft operational for as long as possible. The lessons learned from this mission will be incorporated into the design and operation of Astrobotic’s next moon lander, Griffin, scheduled for launch later this year.
JAXA’s SLIM lander had two main objectives: to demonstrate a high-precision landing system and to test an innovative lightweight design. The lander was launched on September 7 and successfully entered a circular orbit around the moon’s poles. On Friday morning, it began its final descent to the lunar surface, following the planned trajectory and pausing to capture photographs along the way. The landing appeared to go smoothly, with the lander releasing two micro rovers just before touchdown. The spacecraft was designed to land on a slope, maximizing solar power generation.
Telemetry indicated a successful landing, but confirmation from JAXA was delayed. However, NASA’s Deep Space Network received telemetry from SLIM and the micro rovers shortly after landing. JAXA officials confirmed that they were receiving data from both SLIM and the rovers, indicating successful separation. While the solar cells were believed to be undamaged, further analysis is required to determine the lander’s orientation and assess the precision of the landing.
The SLIM mission represents Japan’s contribution to lunar exploration and showcases their advancements in landing technology. Despite the power glitch, JAXA remains committed to maximizing the scientific return from this mission and will continue to analyze the data received from SLIM and the micro rovers.