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The Japanese Slim lunar module, which landed on the moon on January 20, has “resumed its operations”, as announced by the Japanese space agency Jaxa, explaining that electricity has been restored on board. “Last night we managed to establish communication with Slim and resumed operations. We immediately began scientific observations,” the agency wrote on X, adding a photo taken by the module showing the rock dubbed “Toy Poodle” on the lunar soil.
Communication with SLIM was successfully established last night, and operations resumed! Science observations were immediately started with the MBC, and we obtained first light for the 10-band observation. This figure shows the “toy poodle” observed in the multi-band observation. pic.twitter.com/WYD4NlYDaG
— Small lunar landing demonstration vehicle SLIM (@SLIM_JAXA) January 29, 2024
The problems with the solar batteries of the Slim lander (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) (video) have been resolved, as explained by the Japanese space agency. After the module landed on the moon, the agency said problems with the vehicle’s solar batteries prevented them from generating power. The technicians had therefore decided to turn off the probe with 12% of residual energy to allow a possible recharge when the sun’s exposure changed. The lander achieved its goal of landing within 100 meters of its target, touching down 55 meters away, a target considered highly more precise than the normal landing zone of previous missions which experts place several kilometers away. The landing made Japan only the fifth nation to soft land on the lunar surface, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India (video).