JAXA finally shuts down SLIM operations after four months of no contact – Behind The Black – Robert Zimmerman

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JAXA finally shuts down SLIM operations after four months of no contact

August 26, 2024 9:14 am Robert Zimmerman

Click for original image.

Japan’s space agency JAXA today announced that it has now closed down all further attempts to contact its SLIM lunar lander on the surface of the Moon.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) concluded operations of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface at 22:40 (JST), on August 23, after being unable to establish communication with the spacecraft during the operational periods from May to July*, following the last contact on April 28, 2024.

SLIM was launched onboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.47 (H-IIA F47) on September 7, 2023 from the Tanegashima Space Center and achieved Japan’s first Moon soft landing on January 20, 2024. The landing precision was evaluated with a position error of approximately 10 meters from the target point, confirming the world’s first successful pinpoint landing. In addition, the Multi-Band Camera (MBC) successfully performed spectral observations in 10 wavelength bands on 10 rocks, exceeding initial expectations. Further, despite not being part of the original mission plan, the spacecraft was confirmed to survive three lunar nights and remained operational, demonstrating results that surpassed initial goals.

The lander’s main goal was to demonstrate the ability to do a precise robotic landing within a 100 meter landing zone. And even though one nozzle fell off during landing, resulting in SLIM landing on its side, it accomplished that goal and then survived three lunar nights, exceeding significantly its expected ability to function in harsh lunar environment.

The image to the right, reduced to post here, was taken by SLIM just before it was shut down for its first lunar night. It looks to the southeast across the width of 885-foot-wide Shioli Crater, the opposite rim the bright ridge in the upper right about a thousand feet away.

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