Science & Technology

Japanese space module begins operating after reaching Moon

Tokyo, Jan 29 (EFE).- A Japanese space probe, which made Japan the fifth country to successfully land on the Moon, has confirmed power generation, established communication and resumed exploration of the lunar surface, the Japanese Aerospace Agency said Monday.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM probe, landed on the Earth’s natural satellite at 00:20 local time on Jan. 20 (15:20 GMT on Jan. 19), after a rough 20-minute descent in which it lost one of its two engines.

The device established communication with Earth after landing, but was unable to generate energy from its solar cells because the behavior during landing was not as planned and its panels were oriented towards the west, a problem now resolved.

According to the agency, communications with the probe began Sunday night and the module is already exploring the lunar surface.

The main objective of SLIM was to make a precision landing within a radius of 100 meters around the Shioli crater, close to the lunar equator, an unprecedented closeness until now.

Conventional lunar landings currently have a margin of several kilometers, while this module managed to land about 55 meters from the target.

Another secondary mission of the SLIM probe was to take images to be used in the Artemis lunar exploration project and which can now be resumed after having recovered the energy. EFE

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