Japan’s Slim ‘Moon Sniper’ Gets to the Moon’s Neighborhood Before Big Landing
Japan wants to be one of just a few countries that have landed a spaceship softly on the Moon. It's a big deal for their space exploration!
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that their SLIM lander successfully entered the Moon’s orbit. If all goes well, Japan will join a select group of countries that have soft-landed a probe on the Moon, just like India did with Chandrayaan-3 this year.
SLIM is now in an oval-shaped orbit around the Moon, taking about 6.4 hours to complete. It swings from 600 kilometers closest to the Moon to 4,000 kilometers farthest away. JAXA plans to lower its highest point by mid-January 2024 and aim for a 15-kilometer altitude at its closest point by January 19. The actual descent to the Moon will begin on January 20.
The mission started on September 6 after a few delays due to weather. SLIM, known as the “Moon sniper,” took an unusual path to get to the Moon. If successful, it’ll be the lightest and smallest spacecraft to land there. Interestingly, this is Japan’s second attempt at a soft landing after the Hakuto mission, which unfortunately crashed on the Moon in April.
SLIM weighs only 200 kilograms, much lighter than the Chandrayaan-3 lander that weighed around 1,750 kilograms. Its main goal is to show how accurately a spacecraft can land—within 100 meters of the chosen spot. JAXA says this precision is crucial for reaching specific scientific sites on the Moon. Their target is a small crater called Shinoli in the equatorial area.
