A Japanese mission has succeeded in landing on the moon, but likely won’t last for more than a day due to an issue with its solar cells.
A Japanese mission has succeeded in landing on the moon, but it likely won’t last for more than a day due to an issue with its solar cells. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), from Japanese space agency JAXA, is the second mission in a week to have trouble attempting to land on the moon, showing that despite the Apollo landings occurring more than 50 years ago, lunar landings continue to be a major challenge.
The SLIM lander entered orbit around the moon on December 25 last year and made its landing on Friday, January 19. The soft landing — meaning touching down under control on the surface — was successful, making Japan the fifth country to achieve this feat.
