Battery of Japan's lunar lander runs out

It has been reported that the battery of the "SLIM" vehicle belonging to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which successfully landed on the Moon, ran out after a few hours.

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Battery of Japan's lunar lander runs out

In a statement, JAXA updated information regarding the space mission of the "Smart Lander for Investigating Moon" (SLIM), nicknamed "Moon Sniper".

It was reported that the SLIM vehicle successfully landed on the Moon on January 20 at 00:20 local time, but its battery was depleted 2 hours and 40 minutes later. It was stated that the onboard solar panels could not generate energy because they were not facing the direction of the Sun, and thus the battery could not be recharged.

It was noted that the vehicle, whose other functions are operational, could be restarted by being recharged once sunlight reflects toward the western side of the Moon.

BECAME THE FIFTH COUNTRY TO SUCCESSFULLY LAND ON THE MOON

National media reported over the weekend that Japan became the 5th country to achieve a successful Moon landing, following the Soviet Union, the USA, China, and India.

The H2A rocket carrying SLIM was launched into space at the end of September from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, in the southwest. JAXA had announced that the SLIM vehicle was expected to achieve a "pinpoint landing of unprecedented precision" on the Moon. The 700-kilogram lander, manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, is 2.4 meters high and 2.7 meters wide.

The vehicle aims to move on the lunar surface via a spherical probe it carries that is slightly larger than a tennis ball.

News Source: AA