The SLIM lander has shut down again and will “sleep” through the long, cold night on the Moon. He may or may not wake up again.
As the moon entered a cold two-week night, Japan’s SLIM lander went into hibernation mode again. The solar panels stopped receiving enough sunlight and therefore the module’s battery stopped charging. Japanese scientists believe that the vehicle, nicknamed “Lunar Sniper” due to its precise landing on the Moon, can continue to operate within 14 days. However, there is no complete certainty on this matter. New Atlas writes that the SLIM module managed to take pictures of the lunar surface and collect valuable data after several days of operation.
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Although the SLIM lander, created in Japan, landed on the Moon on January 19, it was able to start its work on the Moon only a few days ago. However, he jumped during landing and ended up in an inverted position. As a result, the solar panels were placed so that sunlight could not reach them. Therefore, the module’s battery was not charged and went into sleep mode.
However, on January 29, the Sun was positioned so that the star’s light began to fall on the solar panels, and SLIM began its work to study the Moon. The instrument specifically scanned the nearby surface of the Moon to identify specific minerals as well as its chemical composition.
The SLIM, which actually managed to land just 55 meters away from the planned landing (which is a great achievement because most devices land within a radius of several kilometers), operated for only 3 days.
It took its last photographs of the lunar surface on January 31, and on February 1 the Moon went into sleep mode as night fell, meaning the module’s battery could not be charged due to lack of sunlight. Japanese space agency JAXA believes SLIM could return to operation around February 15, when weather on the Moon will return to daylight.
However, the lander does not have a heating system, and at night the temperature on the Moon drops to minus 130 degrees Celsius. Therefore, such cold could damage the module’s battery and disable its scientific instruments. Time will tell whether the predictions of Japanese scientists will come true.
But regardless of whether SLIM wakes up or not, JAXA said the lander was able to complete its basic missions. Firstly, as mentioned above, the module landed on the Moon as accurately as possible, secondly, two small rovers successfully traveled to the surface of the Moon and demonstrated interoperability, and thirdly, SLIM managed to collect a lot of useful data.
According to Japanese scientists, they have already begun to analyze the information received, which will help solve the mystery of the origin of the Moon. The first research results will be made available to the public as soon as they are available.
As I already wrote FocusThe Ingenuity helicopter’s mission to Mars has ended, and now NASA is unsuccessfully trying to find out what happened to the plane that landed.
Moreover Focus He wrote that a unique gravitational wave detector will be sent into space that will help unravel some of the mysteries of the universe.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.