A NASA orbiter has Japan’s SLIM lunar lander on the lunar surface after its historic landing.
SLIM, or Smart Lander for Moon Research, is operated through the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It landed on the Moon in a precision lunar landing on Jan. 19, making Japan the fifth country to make a comfortable landing on the lunar surface. India, China, the United States, and Russia (then the Soviet Union).
From its orbit 80 km above the surface of the Moon, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) could see SLIM resting at its landing site. “The glowing stripes on the left side of the symbol are rocky curtains ejected from the nearby young Shioli crater. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which manages the LRO, wrote in a statement.
NASA photographs show SLIM’s landing site before and after the spacecraft’s landing. One of the photographs, shown below, is a composition that exhibits the same characteristics in the pre- and post-landing photographs. This, in turn, allows us to highlight adjustments in reflectance on the lunar surface, caused by exhaust gases from the lander’s engine.
SLIM achieved its number one goal: landing at a selected site with near-exact accuracy, landing 328 feet (100 meters) from its target, despite ending up upside down due to engine failure during descent.
Due to its orientation, SLIM was unable to use its solar panels to generate electrical power for nine days, forcing the probe to rely entirely on its battery. However, on Sunday, January 28, Japan nonetheless re-established contact with the rover, likely thanks to a change in the angle of incoming sunlight. This will allow SLIM to continue its project of reading the composition of nearby lunar rocks until the next lunar night, on February 1.
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In addition to sticking its landing, SLIM was able to deploy two mini-rovers it carried to the moon, called LEV-1 (“Lunar Excursion Vehicle” 1) and LEV-2. Both are operating as planned, and the ball-like LEV-2 was even able to snap a picture of its upside-down host.
Originally posted on Space.com.
Brett is a science journalist and generation who is curious about emerging concepts in space and aerospace flight, options release concepts, anti-satellite technologies, and unmanned systems. Brett’s paintings have been published in The War Zone on TheDrive. com, Popular Science, History Channel, Science. Discovery and more. Brett graduated from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with degrees in English. In his spare time, Brett is a musician, amateur electronic engineer and cosplayer, an avid LEGO fan, and enjoys camping in Appalachia. with his wife and two children.
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