JAXA’s ground control center first checked the probe’s condition for some time. At the press conference, which after some delays began at 18:10 CET, Japanese experts officially confirmed that SLIM had indeed landed on the Moon and had also successfully “dropped” its cargo, the LEV-1 hopper lander and the LEV-2 small rover, onto the lunar surface. .
The probe communicates with ground stations, after all half an hour after landing information appeared that the NASA Deep Space Network station in Madrid was receiving transmissions from the SLIM lander and the LEV-1 jumper.
But the orientation of the lander is not ideal.
The Japanese module is in lunar orbit, due to land in January
It only works on batteries that have a limited life
“Unfortunately, after landing, the SLIM lander is oriented in such a way that the photovoltaic cells do not generate electrical energy. The team will try to extract the maximum amount of scientific data before discharging the on-board battery of the SLIM lander,” explained space specialist Michal Václavík from the Czech Space Agency and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague on the X network.
Unfortunately, after landing, the SLIM lander is oriented in such a way that the photovoltaic cells do not generate electrical energy. Both the LEV-1 hopping lander and the LEV-2 small rover were successfully launched to the surface. The team will try to extract as much scientific data as possible before discharging the onboard battery of the SLIM lander. pic.twitter.com/mIIcm0Y3U6
— Michal Vaclavik (@Kosmo_Michal) January 19, 2024
Solar cells do not generate electricity, and the battery life on which the lander is currently operating is limited. After the on-board battery is discharged, the mission may end. However, the Japanese continue to work on finding and evaluating the data. The control center decides what to do next.
However, according to experts, the angle at which the sun’s rays fall is gradually changing. “In the end, it may happen that the Sun will shine on the solar panels. We are evaluating the best course of action. There is still hope that the panel will start generating power again and everything will restart,” said JAXA Vice President Hitoshi Kuninaka.
Did SLIM land in the right place?
The final descent maneuver was initiated from a height of 16 kilometers above the lunar surface. The SLIM module was supposed to land on the surface no further than 100 meters from the chosen landing site. Conventional modules often land with an accuracy of several kilometers. Japanese scientists are also now downloading telemetry and data to determine if they have successfully landed in a given target area.
According to JAXA, precise landings will be crucial for lunar missions in the future. It will allow access to specific, highly interesting places on the moon.
[SLIM Moon landing: live broadcast Jan. 19, 2024 from 23:00 JST]
A live broadcast during the moon landing operations for the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) and press conference will be streamed live on the#JAXA YouTube channel #SLIMlivehttps://t.co/5TR5BIS7JW— JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) (@JAXA_en) January 15, 2024
At the same time, the Japanese mission is to show the possibilities of exploring the Solar System using cheaper and lighter devices. On board, the probe carried two mentioned small rovers LEV-1 and LEV-2, which are to test the ability of small machines to move on the lunar surface.
The module successfully entered lunar orbit on December 25. The small SLIM module was launched into space by the H-2A rocket in September. The SLIM mission is the Japanese space agency’s first attempt to land on the moon.
Foto: Eugene Hoshiko, ČTK/AP
A palm-sized model of the Lunar Vehicle 2 (LEV-2).
The same was attempted last year by the private Japanese company ispace with the Hakuto-R module. It reached the orbit of the moon, but it failed to land softly on the lunar surface.
The fifth country in the world
Japan wanted to become the fifth country in the world to be able to land its device in the natural orbit of the Earth – previously the Soviet Union, the USA, China and India had succeeded.
Foto: Kim Kyung-hoon, Reuters
Smart Lunar Exploration Lander Miniature Model (SLIM)
Even the Peregrine module of the American private firm Astrobotic Technology failed to reach the Moon.
The Peregrine lunar module burned up in Earth’s atmosphere
2024-01-19 14:11:07
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