Japan’s overturned lunar ship unexpectedly wakes up after a lunar night

The SLIM lunar lander unexpectedly came back to life after hibernating during a cold lunar night, sending a signal back to Earth more than a month after ending up upside down on the Moon.

On Monday, the Japanese Space Agency disclosed which restored contact with its lander. Yes, splitting this text into two sentences can improve clarity and readability. The mission team sent a command to SLIM and, surprisingly, received a response from the lunar lander on February 25th. However, communication was interrupted when the temperature of the equipment was too high, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). wrote in X.

SLIM, short for Smart Lander for Lunar Exploration, went into hibernation on January 31st. This happened as the Sun was setting on the near side of the Moon, preventing the lander’s solar panels from generating electricity. The lunar lander was not designed to withstand the low nighttime temperatures on the Moon, which last about 14 Earth days. SLIM defied all odds, reborn as night turned to day. Moon. This is a particularly impressive feat considering the lander flipped over after a less than perfect landing.

JAXA plans to resume communications with SLIM once the lander’s instruments have cooled; The recent restoration of contact occurred at lunar noon, when the temperature was still too high. During a brief check on Sunday, JAXA was able to capture an image of the lunar surface using one of its SLIM navigation cameras.

SLIM landed on the Moon on Friday, January 19, making Japan the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar dusty surface. However, approximately three hours after landing, JAXA was forced to shut down the spacecraft’s system because SLIM solar cells did not produce enough electricity.

One of SLIM’s two main engines may have failed during the final stages of landing, causing the plane to crash. the lander will end up upside down on the Moon JAXA made the decision to shut down the spacecraft’s system approximately three hours after landing in order to preserve the remaining power, which at that time was 12%.

The lander has already achieved the main goal of the mission: precision landing on the lunar surface to test the latest precision technology used to land within 100 meters of the target. Beyond that, SLIM seems reluctant to give up his time on the Moon, defying all odds to contact his mission team on Earth and survive the harsh lunar night while lying face down on the dusty surface.

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