Japan’s smart lander is back in action Monday after several dark days left it without power.
Japan became the fifth country to have a spacecraft land on the moon when the explorer reached its destination on Jan. 19. The power problem occurred when the explorer landed with its solar panels facing the dark lunar surface instead of the sun.
It was an engine failure that caused the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon to make the rough landing. Following a dark 10 days, the lunar lander resumed its mission on Sunday night, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, said.
After gathering data on the landing and the surroundings of the “Moon Sniper,” JAXA shut down the explorer to reserve battery, with hopes it would restart when hit by a brighter angle from the sun.
With the difficulties resolved, SLIM is investigating how the moon evolved by observing the formation of olivine rocks with a spectral camera.
JAXA shared its findings on X with one of six rocks, all named after dog breeds. Pictured is “Toy Poodle.”
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
— 小型月着陸実証機SLIM (@SLIM_JAXA) January 29, 2024
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It is anticipated that SLIM will maintain enough energy to continue operations until Thursday, but it remains uncertain if the spacecraft can function after this mission.
The only other countries to reach the moon are Russia, the United States, India, and China.