Japan just became the fifth country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the moon. This was only possible because of the highly advanced technology they had available. This incredibly precise technology was used so the spacecraft could touch down closer to its target than any previous missions. The spacecraft only survived on the surface for a few hours because of a power failure. Telemetry data from the SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, showed that the spacecraft landed in an area near the Shioli crater and south of the lunar equator. The SLIM landed four months after launching from the Tanegashima Space Centre on the south coast of Japan. During a press conference, Hitoshi Kuninaka, the vice president of Kanegawa-based Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said “SLIM has made it to the Moon’s surface. It has been communicating with our ground station and responding to commands from Earth accurately.” Unfortunately, the SLIM had a malfunction. The solar cells stopped generating electricity, and the SLIM is operating on just its battery. However, the battery will only last a couple of hours. The SLIM is likely to have achieved its primary goal of landing with an unprecedented 100-meter accuracy. One probable cause for the solar cell failure is that during the landing, the spacecraft could have rolled, preventing the cells from facing the sun. This landing is a giant step towards the furthering of Japan and other Asian countries. China and India are the only other Asian countries to have landed a spacecraft on the moon in the last decade. Japan has just become the third Asian country to land a spacecraft on the moon, which is a massive win for Japan and Asia.
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