Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ Made ‘Pinpoint’ Landing, Space Agency Says — See The First Imag

[Boats]

Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ Made ‘Pinpoint’ Landing, Space Agency Says — See The First Images Here
By: Robert Hart - Forbes Staff Jan 25, 2024,05:19am EST
Re: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberth...h=37f24c4f620d

TOPLINE Japan’s space agency on Thursday released the first images of its precise “Moon Sniper” rover on the lunar surface, celebrating a “pinpoint” landing and historic moment that saw Japan join a rarified club of just four other nations in achieving a soft touchdown on the Moon.

1st photo link: An image from LEV-2 showing the SLIM lunar lander, known as the "Moon Sniper," angled on the Moon's ... [+]JAXA, TAKARA TOMY, SONY GROUP CORPORATION, DOSHISHA UNIVERSITY
Re: https://imageio.forbes.com/specials- images/imageserve/65b232efea6622445c5c870d/JAXA-SLIM-Photo-Lev-2/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=640,360,x0,y60,safe&width=1440
[Personal note: looks like it nosed in?)

An image from LEV-2 showing the SLIM lunar lander, known as the "Moon Sniper," angled on the Moon's ... [+]JAXA, TAKARA TOMY, SONY GROUP CORPORATION, DOSHISHA UNIVERSITY

KEY FACTS:

* Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) published a photo of its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.

* The color image shows the golden probe intact and sitting on the gray lunar surface, albeit at a different angle to what experts had anticipated.

* The photo was captured by a wheeled robot the lander ejected before touching down on the Moon on Friday.

* The small, ball-shaped bot—which is known as both Lunar Exploration Vehicle-2 (Lev-2) and SORA-Q—was partly designed by a toy company and was capable of changing shape to traverse the difficult lunar terrain.

* It is reportedly the first Japanese robot to land on the Moon and take pictures, which it relayed back to Earth via another bot roving the Moon, Lev-1.

* JAXA also released a mosaic of lower resolution images of the Moon’s surface as seen from SLIM’s onboard camera, set at an angle to illustrate the slope and direction of gravity.

[A mosaic photo of SLIM's surroundings on the Moon. JAXA]
Photo link: https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-...afe&width=1440

Japan successfully landed the SLIM craft on the Moon last Friday but JAXA powered the lander down just hours after touchdown. The agency said it was failing to generate electricity as expected, which it now says is likely due to the unfavorable positioning of its solar cells. The probe has been dubbed the “Moon Sniper” on account of the precision navigation technology it uses. Lunar landing sites typically stretch for kilometers on account of the many factors—like lunar terrain, communication delays and the lack of atmosphere—that affect a landing, but JAXA hoped to land the rover within 100 meters of a set target. It confirmed a “pinpoint” landing on Thursday within 55 meters of its target.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
JAXA has said it hopes to wake SLIM when the Sun’s light reaching the Moon changes angles enough to reach the craft’s solar cells.

TANGENT:

Japan’s lunar landing came days after the fiery demise of a private lunar lander sent by Astrobotic Technology. The company’s Peregrine lander was hoped to become the first private lander to safely touchdown on the Moon. The craft suffered a “critical” fuel leak shortly after launching atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket and it was directed to return to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. Two other companies had also failed to make soft lunar landings: Japan’s ISpace smashed a lander into the lunar surface in 2023 and Israel’s SpaceIL failed to land on the Moon’s Sea of Serenity in 2019. Astrobotic, in addition to other companies, are poised to try again later this year as part of a public-private initiative including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Lockheed Martin Space that NASA hopes will develop the space economy and lower the costs of its missions.

2nd photo link: https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-...afe&width=1440
A photo of the Moon's surface taken immediately after landing. JAXA

Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ Successfully Lands On Moon In Historic Feat—But Isn’t Generating Electricity (Forbes)

Here’s Which Private Moon Missions Are Next After Peregrine Lander’s Fiery Failure (Forbes)

About this writer:
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Robert Hart : I am a senior reporter for the Forbes breaking news team, covering health and science from the London office. Previously I worked as a reporter for a trade publication covering big data and law and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have master’s degrees in Biological Natural Sciences and the History and Philosophy of Science from Downing College, Cambridge University. Follow me on Twitter @theroberthart or get in touch at rhart@forbes.com