Japan’s unmanned spacecraft “SLIM” successfully landed on the moon. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has announced that it has succeeded in the world‘s first “pinpoint landing”, which achieved an error of less than 100 meters from the landing target point based on data sent from the spacecraft.
The company also stated that the onboard solar cells were not able to generate electricity, but at a press conference held on the 25th, it was stated that if sunlight hits the solar cells by around February 1st, which is the sunset of the moon, electricity will be generated. He expressed the belief that it may be possible to recover and resume operations.
Successful “pinpoint landing”
Japanese probe “SLIM”
In the early hours of January 20th, Japan’s unmanned spacecraft “SLIM” became the fifth country in the world to successfully land on the moon.
At a press conference held in Tokyo on the 25th, JAXA said that based on detailed analysis of data sent from the spacecraft so far, it was estimated that the spacecraft landed approximately 55 meters east of the landing target site. I made it clear that I knew what was going to happen.
The world‘s first “pinpoint landing,” aiming for an error of less than 100 meters when landing on the moon, where the error has traditionally been measured in the order of several kilometers, has been announced.
“SLIM” with the main engine facing upwards
Photographed by a small, separated exploration robot
It was also confirmed that the two small exploration robots on board were functioning normally, and an image taken on the moon showed “SLIM” with its main engine facing upwards. .
Analysis so far has also revealed that one of the two main engines was lost due to some abnormality at an altitude of 50 meters just before landing.
As a result of this, the spacecraft landed on the moon in a different attitude than expected, so the solar cells on board the spacecraft were not exposed to sunlight and are currently unable to generate electricity, but it is possible that they will be able to generate electricity in the future if sunlight shines on them. There is also a gender.
Shinichiro Sakai, project manager at JAXA and responsible for the development of SLIM, said the following.
JAXA Shinichiro Sakai Project Manager
“I got a perfect score of 100 for the pinpoint landing. I was able to accomplish what I needed to do in the limited time I had. I will continue to do my best for recovery operations.”
Power restored “by lunar sunset”
JAXA said that the onboard solar cells were not able to generate electricity, but at a press conference held on the 25th, they said that if sunlight hits the solar cells by around February 1st, which is the sunset of the moon, the electricity will be generated. He expressed the belief that there is a possibility that the plant could be restored and resume operations.
During the press conference, a JAXA representative said that day and night cycles occur on the lunar surface every two weeks, and that if sunlight hits the solar cells and power is restored by around February 1st, which is when the moon sets. , explained that the spacecraft could start up automatically and resume operations.
Once power is restored, they plan to carry out observations to photograph the moon’s surface, investigate the composition of rocks, and explore the origin of the moon, as originally planned.
The lunar surface photographed by the SLIM spacecraft