Sharjah 24 – AFP: Japan's space agency announced on Monday that it has ended its Moon lander mission after losing contact with the uncrewed spacecraft last week.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), known as the "Moon Sniper" for its precise landing capabilities, landed on the Moon eight months ago, making Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft lunar landing.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported on X that after multiple attempts to reconnect following three lunar nights (six weeks of extreme cold), there was no response from SLIM. Consequently, JAXA decided to cease the mission around 22:40 (1340 GMT) on August 23.
JAXA noted that SLIM had transmitted data on its status and environment far beyond expectations, with operations lasting longer than anticipated.
Although SLIM’s landing in January was successful, it landed at a slight angle that misaligned its solar panels. Despite this, it managed to function for two days and conducted scientific observations of a crater using a high-resolution camera. The lander was not designed for the extreme temperatures of the lunar nights, which drop to minus 133 degrees Celsius, but it revived once more in April.
The mission included two probes: one with a transmitter and a mini-rover that moved like a turtle, sending images back to Earth. SLIM aimed to study a part of the Moon's mantle believed to be exposed at the landing site crater.
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