Japan’s Moon Lander Survives Harsh Lunar Night, Raises Hopes for Long-Lived Missions
Japan’s Moon lander, known as Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon), has successfully survived the harsh lunar night, a challenging period of darkness and extreme cold lasting two Earth weeks. The national space agency Jaxa announced the news, stating that a command was sent to Slim and a response was received.
Slim had encountered difficulties after an awkward landing in January, which resulted in its solar panels facing the wrong direction and being unable to generate power. However, a change in sunlight direction allowed Slim to send back pictures before it shut down again during the lunar night.
Jaxa had previously stated that Slim was not designed to withstand the harsh lunar nights, but they planned to attempt to operate it again once the Sun would shine on its solar cells from mid-February onwards. The fact that Slim has rebooted itself after the cold lunar night is seen as a significant achievement by experts in the field.
Dr. Simeon Barber from the UK’s Open University emphasized the importance of Slim’s survival during the lunar night. He explained that enduring the lunar night is a crucial technological challenge that needs to be overcome for the establishment of long-lived robotic or human missions on the Moon.
Slim landed near the Moon’s equator, where temperatures can reach over 100 degrees Celsius at noon but drop to -130 degrees Celsius during the lunar night. Jaxa reported that communication with the lander was terminated shortly after landing due to the high temperature of the communications equipment during lunar midday.
Despite these challenges, Slim managed to capture and transmit images of its surroundings during its brief period of re-awakening. Jaxa is now preparing to resume operations once instrument temperatures have cooled down sufficiently.
Dr. Barber highlighted the need for future landers to have ‘active’ thermal control, which involves dissipating heat generated during the daytime and transitioning into a heat-conserving mode at night to prevent extreme cold. He believes that Slim’s survival without such a complex design could provide valuable insights into how electronics behave on the Moon.
The successful landing in January made Jaxa the fifth national space agency to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon, following the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, and India. Jaxa also congratulated the team behind the Odysseus Moon lander, a privately built and operated robot that recently completed a soft lunar touchdown. Although Odysseus landed awkwardly and tipped onto its side, it remains functional and is communicating with Earth.
While no images from the Odysseus mission have been released yet, the achievements of both Slim and Odysseus signify significant progress in lunar exploration and raise hopes for future long-lived missions on the Moon.
In conclusion, Japan’s Moon lander Slim has successfully survived the harsh lunar night, overcoming challenges and raising hopes for extended missions on the Moon. The ability to endure the extreme cold and darkness of the lunar night is a crucial step towards establishing long-term robotic or human presence on the Moon. With further advancements in thermal control technology, future missions can build upon Slim’s success and continue to explore and study the lunar surface.
