Science

JAXA Ends Operations of SLIM Lunar Lander

Courtesy of JAXA, Tomy Co., Sony Group Corp. and Doshisha University
An image captured by SORA-Q shows SLIM on the moon.

Jiji Press

14:16 JST, August 27, 2024

Tokyo, Aug. 26 (Jiji Press) — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Monday that it ended operations of its Small Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, on Friday after determining that the probe was no longer functioning as it had not responded since late May.

SLIM landed near the Shioli crater in Mare Nectaris, or the Sea of Nectar, on the moon in the early hours of Jan. 20, becoming the first Japanese probe to successfully touch down on the moon.

The probe achieved its primary goal of a so-called pinpoint landing, or touching down on a spot within 100 meters of its target. However, one of its engines was damaged just before touchdown, causing it to land at an unexpected angle and rendering it unable to generate power with its solar cells. It was taken offline about two and a half hours later.

Still, the probe resumed operations on Jan. 28 after the direction of the sun changed. It took a picture of itself using two small rovers and transmitted the image to Earth. It also photographed rocks on the moon with a spectroscopic camera and found the presence of the mineral olivine, possibly a clue to the moon’s origin.

SLIM operations were then halted on Jan. 31 as night fell at the landing spot. Despite not being designed to withstand the moon’s nighttime temperatures of minus 170 degrees Celsius, the probe came back online in late February when sunlight returned to the landing site. More images were captured and transmitted successfully.

The probe survived night conditions to resume operations in late March and late April as well, but stopped responding to communications from Earth in late May.