Japan Is The Fifth Country To Reach The Moon: Japan has become the fifth country to reach the moon, but after landing on the lunar surface with its spacecraft, it is facing issues with its solar power system, meaning that the mission can only function for a few hours.
Before Japan, the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and India successfully landed spacecraft on the moon.
Japan launched its lunar rover 'Moon Snapper' in September 2023. While the mission successfully entered lunar orbit after a month of continuous maneuvers around the moon, it has now landed on the moon.
According to reports from international news agencies, this mission, named Smart Lander for Lunar Investment Gating Moon (SLIM), consists of small space probes and landers weighing 200 kilograms.
The primary objective of this mission is to demonstrate the capability of precision landing within 100 meters of the selected landing site. The Japanese mission chose a landing site near the small crater of Shioli in the equatorial region of the moon.
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stated that communication with the lunar lander was re-established with Earth after the lunar landing. However, its solar panels were unable to generate electricity, possibly because their angles were not correctly aligned.
The head of the Japanese Space Agency's Research Center mentioned that 'SLIM is currently operating on battery power only, and we need to transfer its data to Earth.' They expressed hope that the spacecraft could resume operations once it collides with the moon's surface, possibly triggering a change in the solar panel angles due to the impact.
They further stated that it takes about 30 days for the angles of the solar panels on the moon to change, so when there is a change in solar orientation and light comes from different directions, the spacecraft could potentially collide with sunlight from a solar-free space, and the lunar craft may be able to function again.
The head of the Japanese Space Agency's Research Center also mentioned that, based on preliminary data, SLIM has successfully landed within 100 meters of the selected landing site, although it will take a month to confirm.