Japan abandons SLIM lunar lander

The Japanese lunar lander SLIM will not transmit any more data to Earth. The Japanese space organization JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has given up on waking up the device again. The Japanese are rightly proud of the project.

JAXA launched SLIM in September last year together with the X-ray telescope XRISM. The moon landing was successful in January. It was exceptionally precise: SLIM touched down on the moon only around ten meters from its intended target. Deviations of several kilometers are common for such missions, which is why the most exciting research objects are often missed. If the Japanese approach can be repeated, it could significantly improve the exploration of celestial bodies.

Unfortunately, SLIM is at an angle because the moon is not a paved parking lot. This is detrimental to the alignment of the solar panels. Although the probe was able to carry out its assigned tasks, it was unable to generate electricity with the solar panels. The probe therefore had to be deactivated after a few hours. But it didn't matter because the multiband camera examined ten moonstones at ten different wavelengths – more than expected.

SLIM survived three lunar nights

However, after the first lunar night, the sun shone on SLIM in a suitable way so that JAXA was able to put it back into operation. The surprise was that SLIM was able to survive the cold lunar night, with temperatures below -130 degrees Celsius. The device was not designed for this. Even after the second and third lunar nights, SLIM was running again and JAXA researchers collected even more data. Every minute of operation was a bonus.

JAXA has now announced that it has not been able to make contact with its lunar device since May. It completed the SLIM project on Friday. It plans to publish a detailed summary of its achievements soon.

Moon playground

Japan's lunar lander is part of the vanguard of a veritable fleet that is to be sent to Earth's satellite in the coming years. The decades in which the celestial body was virtually ignored are over. Instead, a real race is expected, and not just to see who can get people there next. In contrast to the Apollo program, the USA would like to establish a permanent presence.

Meanwhile, there are growing concerns among researchers that the moon's virginity could soon come to an end. The side facing away from Earth in particular could represent the last opportunity for astronomy to investigate certain aspects of the early history of the cosmos because earthly radiation would distort data everywhere else in the solar system.

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