Monica Marques
10 September 2023, 13:14
Reading time: 2 minutes
Finally, Japan managed to launch its lunar probe, which is already on its way to its destination on Earth’s natural satellite.
After three delays in its launch due to unfavorable weather conditions, JAXA was able to successfully launch the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).
100 million dollar lunar probe reaches the Moon in February 2024
Representation of the SLIM probe at the start of the moon landing Crédito@JAXA
After being forced to postpone the launch three times in a row, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) finally managed to successfully send the SLIM probe to the Moon.
This probe, which represents an investment of 100 million dollars (approximately 93 million euros), is expected to reach the lunar surface in February 2024, after making a long journey, powered by low fuel consumption.
At a press conference, Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of JAXA, stated that the “big goal of SLIM is to prove high-precision landing to be able to land where we want on the surface of the Moon instead of landing where we can”.
The latest contact with the Japanese probe suggests that it continues its journey, as planned and with no incidents to report.
If successful, Japan will be the fifth space power to reach the Moon. SLIM is expected to make a landing near Mare Nectaris, a lunar sea that, seen from Earth, appears as a black spot and that its main task is to test advanced optical and image processing technology.
XRISM satellite followed on the same ship with SLIM
The Japanese probe will also analyze the composition of the rocks found at this location to look for more clues about the origin of the Moon.
But the SLIM probe was not alone in this launch. JAXA used the spacecraft to also send the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite into space, a project it developed together with the European Space Agency and NASA.
The role of this satellite will be to observe the Universe’s plasma winds so that researchers can discover more about the evolution of stars and galaxies.
Meanwhile, the XRISM satellite has already sent signals to Earth, which confirms that the equipment’s solar panels were successfully deployed.
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