Tokyo, Japan – After the recent failed US lunar lander mission, a spacecraft launched by Japan is gearing up for a historic landing attempt on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is expected to touch down on the lunar surface at 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday. If successful, this would be Japan’s first time landing a robotic explorer on the moon’s surface. It would also make Japan the third country in the 21st century and the fifth country overall to achieve such a feat.
The SLIM spacecraft, aptly nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” for its precision technology, will begin its descent towards the lunar surface at 10 a.m. ET. The entire landing process will be livestreamed on YouTube in Japanese and English. Kenji Kushiki, the subproject manager of the SLIM mission, described the start of the deceleration as a “breathless, numbing 20 minutes of terror.”
Unlike previous lunar missions that aimed for general zones, SLIM is specifically designed for a “pinpoint” landing at a specific location. Its technology aims to bring precision to low-cost and lightweight robotic probes, allowing them to land even in treacherous, rocky terrains. If successful, this technology could pave the way for future missions to land on planets with even scarcer resources than the moon.
The SLIM lander has set its sights on a landing site within a small lunar impact crater called Shioli, located in the Sea of Nectar. The spacecraft will investigate the composition of rocks in this area, providing valuable insights into the moon’s interior structure and origins. Landing in this region poses its own set of challenges, as crater ejecta sites are typically avoided due to the difficulty of landing in such small areas on sloped sides.
SLIM relies on vision-based navigation technology, or “smart eyes,” to capture photographs of the moon’s surface and pinpoint its location on previously mapped out lunar satellite maps. It will autonomously adjust its trajectory as it prepares for landing, continuously firing its engines to counteract the moon’s gravity.
This mission comes at a time when there is renewed international interest in lunar exploration. Countries like the United States, former Soviet Union, China, and India have all executed controlled landings on the moon. However, recent missions have also highlighted the challenges of landing safely. Japan’s Hakuto-R lunar lander and Russia’s Luna-25 both experienced failures during landing attempts.
SLIM’s success would not only be a milestone for Japan but also contribute valuable knowledge and technology to future missions. Its precision landing capability and lightweight design could revolutionize how landings are conducted, enabling agencies to land exactly where they want. As space agencies plan for more frequent missions and the exploration of other planets’ moons, the lessons learned from SLIM’s mission will prove invaluable.