Tokyo –
A Japanese space probe has successfully landed on the Moon, but problems with its solar panels mean the mission may be shortened by just a few hours.
Vehicle Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) made a smooth landing on the lunar surface near the equatorial crater.
Japan became the fifth country to successfully land its probe smoothly on the Moon, after the US, Soviet Union, China and India.
But currently Japanese experts are trying to save the mission.
For reasons that are not yet fully understood, the plane’s solar panels do not produce electricity.
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This condition makes Slim completely dependent on the battery, and the battery will eventually run out.
When this happens, this vehicle cannot carry out activities. He will not receive orders and will not be able to make contact with Earth.
Experts are currently prioritizing that the vehicle can carry out its activities.
They had turned off the heater and taken down the pictures the robot had taken.
It is not yet known how the problem occurred, but it is possible that the orientation of the solar panels shifted in such a way that it prevented them from seeing the Sun.
When the angle of light changed on the Moon, Slim could possibly come back to life, Japanese authorities said.
Japanese people celebrate when the probe successfully lands smoothly on the Moon (Reuters)
When asked at a press conference about the problem with the solar panels and Japan’s claim that the probe landed smoothly, Jaxa Vice President Hitoshi Kuninaka said a landing in such conditions could still be done.
“Otherwise, there would be a collision with the lunar surface at very high speed and the function of the spacecraft would be completely lost,” he told reporters.
“But they still sent us the data just fine, which means our initial goal of a smooth landing was successful.”
Slim carried two small rovers and telemetry showed that they successfully ejected as planned before landing.
The probe, which carries an infrared camera, will spend the next two weeks studying local geology.
The extent to which this investigation can be achieved in the time available remains to be seen.
Two deployed rovers: Hopper (Left) and shape-shifting ball (right), as imagined by the artists (Jaxa)
Statistically, there is a lot of evidence that it is very difficult to land on the Moon. Only about half of all landing attempts so far have been successful.
Jaxa places its trust in the new navigation technology that enables its precise landing.
The computer on board the landing craft uses fast image processing and crater mapping to avoid hazards as it reaches the landing point.
Experts wanted the landing to be within 100m of the targeted location.
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They will now study the data to see how well Slim is performing. However, initial indications show that the technology is functioning according to initial design.
“Looking at the track data, I am sure that Slim will definitely succeed in landing exactly with an accuracy of 100m. Of course, as we previously informed, it will take about a month to analyze the information accurately,” said Kuninaka.
Slim began a descent maneuver from a height of 15km at midnight Friday to Saturday (Japan time). They landed just after 15:20 GMT.
The landing location is near the Shioli Crater when the Sun is shining brightly, but the darkness of the night the Moon will return there at the end of this month.
When that happens, temperatures drop drastically to levels that can damage electronic circuit boards.
The targeted landing site is on a slope approaching the Shioli Crater, which is just south of the Moon’s equator (NASA/LRO)
Jaxa has twice landed its robotic probes on a number of asteroids, so this landing on the Moon is important.
The spacecraft will play an important role in the US space agency’s (NASA) Artemis program, which seeks to return humans to the lunar surface after a hiatus of more than half a century.
Last year, a private Japanese company, iSpace, attempted a landing. His Hakuto-R plane crashed when the computer on board had difficulty detecting its height above the Moon.
On Thursday, the private American company Astrobotic jettisoned its Peregrine landing craft in the Earth’s atmosphere. An error in the propulsion aspect made it a failure to make a landing attempt.
However, Dr Simeon Barber from the UK’s Open University expressed his appreciation for Japan’s efforts to land its first probe on the Moon.
“For me, it was all about how precise the landing was. It was a huge success. I would have loved it if I had been them,” he told BBC News.
“We are in an era where many missions to the Moon are being undertaken by many different players. If we combine all this knowledge, gained from all players through these efforts – whether successful or not – then we as a community will learn how to structure missions with more success in the future.”
In line with this, Dr Emma Gatti, from digital media SpaceWatch Global, said Japan deserves to celebrate its success.
“This is historic for them; this is a matter of prestige. This is important for Japan as a country; important for all the investment they have put in – proof that this can be done by a country that is not as big as China or the US,” said Emma Gatti.
(nvc/nvc)
2024-01-20 12:19:27
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