Historical Achievement… Japanese Spacecraft “SLIM” Survives Lunar Night
The Japanese space agency announced today, Monday, that the lunar landing spacecraft “SLIM” unexpectedly survived a freezing lunar night and re-established contact with Earth, more than a month after its “precise” historic landing on the lunar surface.
The intelligent lunar exploration spacecraft “SLIM” landed on the Moon’s surface last month, making Japan the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon. The Odyssey company, a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines based in the United States, followed suit last week, as countries and companies rush to reach the Moon in search of resources and its suitability for human habitation.
Shortly after landing just 55 meters from its target directly south of the lunar equator, the spacecraft’s energy was depleted as it flipped over, and its solar panels were in the wrong angle.
The solar panels regained their energy after more than a week due to a change in the direction of sunlight, with the Japanese space agency previously stating that the spacecraft was not designed to survive a lunar night.
