Japan’s probe ‘Moon Sniper’ enters the lunar orbit on Christmas
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shared yesterday that the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) entered the Moon’s orbit at 4:51 pm (JST) on December 25, 2023.
If it successfully makes a landing on the Moon, then it would join the list of five other nations who have accomplished this feat, namely the United States, Russia, China, and India.
Although its official name is SLIM, it’s been nicknamed ‘Moon Sniper’ because of the precision and accuracy with which it aims to touch down within a mere 100 meters (328 feet) of a designated target on the Moon’s surface.
This cutting-edge technology is set to redefine lunar landings with unparalleled precision and strategic prowess.
Japan’s first lunar landing
This marks JAXA’s first attempt at landing on the Moon after a setback earlier this year when a private Japanese company’s attempt ended in failure.
The SLIM spacecraft is relatively compact, tipping the scales at approximately 200 kg, in stark contrast to the Chandrayaan-3 lander module, which weighed a hefty 1,750 kg.
SLIM will follow the elliptical lunar orbit connecting the Moon’s north and south poles. It would take approximately 6.4 hours for SLIM to complete one full orbit.
During this orbit, the spacecraft gets as close as 600 km to the Moon at its nearest point (perilune) and as far as 4,000km at its farthest point (apolune), explained JAXA in a press release.
The process of changing SLIM’s orbit happened according to the planned schedule, and the spacecraft is currently in a stable and normal condition.
Meet the ‘Moon Sniper’
On January 19, the spacecraft will get as close as 15 km to the Moon. Expected to make a landing on January 20, 2024, shortly after midnight in Japan; the descent will take approximately 20 minutes.
As anticipation builds, all eyes are on JAXA’s ambitious lunar mission set to unfold in the coming weeks.
SLIM was launched on JAXA’s H2-A rocket on August 28 from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The project is focused on developing a lightweight lunar lander with pinpoint landing technology.
With a goal to advance the capability of landing precisely on specific targets on the Moon, JAXA wants to enable future lunar probes to explore resource-scarce planets, said the government agency.
“By creating the SLIM lander humans will make a qualitative shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land, as had been the case before,” said JAXA in a mission statement.
SLIM’s creation represents a qualitative shift, allowing for landings in more challenging locations and opening up possibilities for exploring planets with even fewer resources than the Moon.