Japan’s high-precision “Moon Sniper” craft landed on the lunar surface, marking the country’s first landing of a probe without astronauts. The mission was powered by pioneering “pinpoint landing” technology that steered the robotic explorer to a precise touchdown spot. It’s the fifth time a nation has used this method of lunar exploration, but the first in this century, and it could boost Japan’s profile in the global race for lunar technology.
The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed the “Moon Sniper” for its pinpoint technology, had the goal of touching down within 100 meters (330 feet) of a specific landing spot — far more accurate than standard landing zones that cover several kilometers. Its precision allowed scientists to study a unique lunar region, including a crater with exposed mantle rocks, instead of generic landing areas that could be anywhere on the Moon’s vast surface.
JAXA, the space agency that launched SLIM, said the probe had landed on its target at 16:51 Japan time (2:51 a.m. EST or 751 GMT). The agency later released the mission’s first images, including a view of Japan’s Sagamihara campus southwest of Tokyo, where space fans watched the mission live-streamed on large screens. JAXA has also posted a video showing SLIM’s descent through the lunar atmosphere and onto the Moon.
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The spacecraft had switched off its solar batteries after landing to allow for a possible recovery when the sun hit its panels. Still, officials say it is alive and transmitting data. They have also swung its solar panel wings around to the sun’s direction, and the agency says it hopes to restore power by Feb. 1.
SLIM is carrying two small autonomous probes- lunar excursion vehicles LEV-1 and LEV-2- released just before the landing. These are designed to explore the lunar surface and search for clues about its origin, and JAXA says it is already receiving data from them.
In addition to its scientific mission, JAXA wants to use SLIM to boost Japan’s profile in the global race to develop technologies that could send humans to Mars and other planets. The agency already has a track record in this arena with its Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which landed twice on the asteroid Ryugu to collect samples for return to Earth.
Aeronautics professor Takeshi Tsuchiya says a successful pinpoint landing by SLIM would prove Japan is capable of competing with other nations in the modern push for lunar contact that has roots in the Cold War-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. He says Japan needs to assert itself in developing the Moon, which is essential for exploring resources and as a potential stopover on the path to other planets. But Tsuchiya says it will also need to demonstrate consistent precision landing technology. JAXA has been plagued by a series of rocket failures in recent years, including the mishap that crippled the next-generation H3 in March and the crash of an improved version of the Epsilon rocket in October.