Jon Carmichael
Japan’s SLIM, the Smart Lander for Investigation Moon, has entered a dormant mode on the Moon’s Shioli Crater, facing a 14-day lunar night with temperatures dropping below -200 degrees Fahrenheit.
REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk
China is planning to send its next lander to the lunar surface, this time targeting an impact crater with a sun-lit rim that could hold precious resources for long-duration stays on the Moon.
JAXA/TAKARA TOMY/Sony Group/Doshisha University/Reuters
Science, moon-landing, Japan, jaxa, Space, moon, spacecraft
Despite taking an unfortunate tumble on the lunar surface, Japan’s lunar lander has regained power more than a week after ending up face down on the Moon.
Do not scratch your eyes: the Moon is slowly shrinking, causing quakes on its surface that complicate NASA’s plans for landing Artemis 3, the first Artemis mission that will make a crewed landing on the Moon, and more ambitious missions geared towards maintaining a prolonged human lunar presence.
Being the space nerd that I am, I often imagine a museum filled with the most important objects ever sent to space. We couldn’t possibly build a place like this, but we can speculate as to which human artifacts deserve a place in our imaginary spaceflight museum.
The saga of Japan’s lunar lander continues to unfold, with the first images of SLIM on the surface of the Moon revealing the unfortunate position the spacecraft has ended up in.