Japan Just Made History By Landing On The Moon But There Is Some Bad News Too
Japan has become only the fifth country in the history of the world to land on the Moon, but it wasn't all good news, as the lander might have run out of power.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) successfully touched down on the moon's surface on January 20. The space agency was able to establish communication with the craft when it landed. However, JAXA said the solar cells on the craft are "not generating power."
In another statement, JAXA said the SLIM's battery only had 12% remaining when it touched down. It was disconnected to avoid being unable to restart as the space agency hopes for favorable sunlight conditions to power it up. SLIM's solar cells are facing west, which gives the craft a chance of catching some rays.
"Until power was switched off after landing, the technical and image data acquired during the landing descent and on the lunar surface were successfully transmitted," JAXA said. "We're currently conducting a detailed analysis, and are relieved to see that we obtained a lot of data."
JAXA said it will share more details and reveal what happens next for the SLIM later this week.
Japan follows the US, Soviet Union, China, and India in successfully landing on the Moon, but only the US has put astronauts down onto the surface. A private US company with the backing of NASA launched a craft to the Moon earlier this month but it suffered an engine issue and will not make it there. This would have been America's first trip back to the Moon since 1972.
NASA is attempting to send humans back to the Moon and later to Mars as part of the Artemis program. Recently, NASA delayed the Artemis timelines, however.
