As of Friday evening, Japan had succeeded in its planned soft landing on the moon – but there were problems with the power supply. The solar panel is not working, it was said at a press conference with experts from Japan’s space agency Jaxa. The lander “SLIM” (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) is still communicating with the ground station and receiving data. The battery capacity is expected to last for a few hours. Further findings can be expected with the evaluation of further data. It cannot yet be said whether the unmanned landing took place as planned within a zone of 100 meters.
According to current knowledge, the solar panel was not damaged, it was said in the evening. It initially remained unclear whether there was an unfavorable alignment or other problems.
If the status of a soft landing remains, Japan will be the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on Earth’s satellite after the former Soviet Union, the USA, China and India. “SLIM” set off to the moon from the Japanese Tanegashima spaceport last September on board a Japanese H2A carrier rocket.
Last April, a private Japanese company failed in a similar mission. The reason given by the company Ispace was an incorrect altitude calculation of the lander. At the beginning of last week, the US company Astrobotic failed to put the lander “Peregrine” on the moon. It would have been the first private landing there ever.
The US mission started successfully, but then there were problems with the propulsion system. According to the operating company Astrobotic, contact with the capsule was lost on Thursday. It was said that it probably crashed over the South Pacific and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, as planned after the failure of the moon flight.
