2024-02-13 06:36:03
The Japanese lunar module has returned to life, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) said on Monday. The device will continue its mission to study the lunar surface, Day.Az reports with reference to Astronews.
“Last night we managed to establish contact with SLIM and we resumed work!” – JAXA said on social networks. The news comes nine days after the SLIM lander landed at the wrong angle, causing its solar panels to be oriented the wrong way.
“We immediately began scientific observations with the MBC and successfully received the first light for the 10-band observation,” the statement said.
During the descent, dubbed the “20 Minutes of Terror,” the craft developed engine problems and landed at the wrong angle. Its solar panels were facing west rather than up, and it was unclear whether they would still receive enough sunlight to operate.
Last week, JAXA said it had shut down SLIM, leaving a small reserve of power in the hope that it would wake up this week.
A JAXA spokesman told AFP on Monday that SLIM’s operations had resumed “presumably because its solar array has resumed generating power as sunlight comes in.”
“We will prioritize what we can do now – surveillance and information gathering – rather than adjusting SLIM’s position, as adjusting the position could make the situation worse,” he said.
JAXA said last week that SLIM landed 55 meters from its target. This meant that the “Moon Sniper” lived up to its nickname and landed within the 100-meter landing zone.
SLIM will now be able to begin its primary mission – exploring the open region of the Moon’s mantle, the inner layer usually found deep beneath its crust.
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