A Japanese lunar explorer equipped with precision navigation technology lost power a few hours after successfully landing on the Moon over the weekend as it was unable to generate power from the Sun, the country’s space agency said Monday.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it managed to retrieve data regarding the details of the touchdown of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, which has been a key focus of the mission, as the agency sought to manage a pinpoint landing with an unprecedented precision of 100 meters from its intended target.
Japan landed the spacecraft around 0:20 a.m. on Saturday, becoming the fifth country to achieve the feat after the former Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.
But the lander’s built-in solar power generation system was found not to be working as its panels were not properly facing the sun, and its battery ran out around 3 a.m. Saturday, some two hours and 40 minutes after landing, the agency said.
Given the possibility that the system could start functioning once the Sun starts shining from the Moon’s west, the agency is preparing for a reboot, it said.
Using SLIM, the agency said it hoped to realize a transition away from an era of “landing where we can” toward one of “landing where we want” for future Moon missions, which could include searching for water, requiring pinpoint landings on uneven surfaces such as slopes.
Previous Moon landers had an accuracy of within several to around a dozen kilometers, according to JAXA.
According to the agency, the vehicle can autonomously determine the best spot to land by taking photos of craters and surfaces during its descent and comparing them with imagery inputted in advance.
The explorer was launched on Japan’s H2A rocket on Sept. 7 last year from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
By KYODO
