It appears that the Japanese space probe SLIM succeeded, Friday night – Saturday, in its attempt to land on the surface of the moon with unprecedented accuracy, according to what was announced by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), which is trying to verify the status of the vehicle.
The “Slim” module (a name made up of the first letters of an English phrase meaning “intelligent lunar lander”) has been orbiting the rocky celestial body since the end of last December. It began its descent about twenty minutes earlier than expected, at a speed of approximately 1,700 meters per second.
JAXA official Shin Toriumi said during a live broadcast that, based on telemetry data, “It appears that (the probe) has landed on the moon. We are checking its condition.”
This small, unmanned spacecraft (2.4 meters long, 1.7 meters wide and 2.7 meters high) not only had to land, but it also had to land within a 100-meter radius of its target, a radius that High degree of accuracy. Hence, her nickname “Moon Sniper”.
Lunar rovers often land several kilometers from their target, which may complicate their exploration missions. Landing on the moon's surface is more difficult than landing on asteroids (which several countries' agencies, including JAXA, have previously achieved), given that gravity is stronger on the moon than on small celestial bodies.
Emily Brunsden, director of the Astrocampus Center at York University, explained that landing on the moon's surface accurately poses a “major challenge” for the Slim rover.
However, achieving this achievement is “extremely difficult from a technological standpoint,” noting that “the slightest mistake could lead to the failure of the mission, as there is usually only one opportunity available.”
The Slim spacecraft must land in a small crater less than 300 meters in diameter called Shiuli, where it can conduct analyzes of rocks believed to come from the lunar mantle, which is the inner structure of the Moon. There is not yet much data available about this lunar mantle.
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Tomokatsu Morota, a lecturer at the University of Tokyo, who specializes in space exploration, said that these rocks are “important for research on the origin of the Moon and Earth.”
The lander was equipped with a spherical probe designed by JAXA in cooperation with the Japanese toy giant Takara Tomy, which is slightly larger than a tennis ball and can change its shape to move on the surface of the moon.
This Japanese mission also aims to achieve progress in research related to water resources on the moon, which is an essential issue given that the United States and China intend in the long term to establish manned bases on its surface.
The presence of water ice at the bottom of craters in the polar regions of the Moon has been proven, making it the focus of great interest.
Murota also stressed that the success of the Slim mission allows Japan to “demonstrate its presence” in the space field.
More than 50 years after man's first steps on the moon, an achievement achieved by the Americans in 1969, countries have renewed their race to it, and the most prominent in this context is the intense competition between the United States and China.
But other countries and private companies are also interested in it, including Russia, which dreams of reviving the glories of the Soviet Union in space, through its partnership, especially with China and India, which succeeded last summer in landing its first spacecraft on the surface of the moon.
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