Japan's lunar craft lands successfully but can't generate solar power
Japan on Saturday became the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon but the probe was not generating solar power, its space agency said, during a mission to prove a "precision" landing technology and revitalize a space program that has suffered setbacks.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on the moon's surface at around 12:20 a.m. (1520 GMT Friday) and re-established communication with Earth, but its solar panels were not able to generate electricity, possibly because they are angled wrong.
Speaking at a news conference after SLIM's landing, Hitoshi Kuninaka, the head of JAXA's research centre, said that the spacecraft is currently operating only on its battery. Despite "life-sustaining treatments" such as turning off its heater, SLIM's battery lasts only for "a few hours," so JAXA will maintain the status quo rather than take risky actions. JAXA hopes a shift in the sunlight's angle will hit the panels in a way that can restore its functions, Kuninaka said.
Dubbed the "moon sniper," SLIM attempted to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of its target, versus the conventional accuracy of several kilometers, a technology JAXA says will become a powerful tool in future exploration of hilly moon poles seen as a potential source of oxygen, fuel and water.
"Looking at the trace data, SLIM most certainly achieved a pinpoint landing with 100-meter accuracy," Kuninaka said, although adding it will take about a month to verify it.
Japan is increasingly looking to play a bigger role in space, partnering with ally the United States to counter China. Japan is also home to several private-sector space startups and the JAXA aims to send an astronaut to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program in the next few years.
Other than Japan, only four nations - the former Soviet Union, the United States, China and India - and no private company, have achieved a soft landing on the moon's surface.
Reuters
