Japan joins elite moon landing club

Japan's moon lander, known as the "moon sniper" or SLIM, has made a historic touchdown on the lunar surface but is facing technical issues with its solar panels, possibly leading to its batteries running out within hours. The lander was designed to perform an exceptionally accurate landing and aimed to land within 100 meters of a target site near Shioli crater to collect valuable data to understand the Moon's origins. After landing, it encountered solar cell issues, jeopardizing its mission. JAXA is working to maximize data collection before power is lost and hopes that the angle of sunlight might change in the coming weeks, allowing the cells to recharge. The mission has already created history as Japan becomes the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. The success of the landing itself is a significant milestone, reflecting Japan's growing capabilities in space exploration.

As of the SLIM mission in 2024, five countries have successfully landed spacecraft on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan.

Background Information: The Moon landing endeavors began with the Soviet Union's Luna 9 in 1966, followed by America's Surveyor 1. Many years later, China joined the lunar exploration club with its Chang'e 3 mission, followed by India's Chandrayaan-3. Japan's SLIM mission aimed for precise targeting of the landing, which is an incredible achievement in the field of space exploration. The scientific goals are just as ambitious, as analyzing material from the Moon's mantle could give insights into the Moon's history, including the prevalent theory that it was formed from Earth's collision with a protoplanet.