Japan achieved a significant milestone by becoming the fifth country in history to land a spacecraft on the moon, successfully executing a soft landing without astronauts on board. Nonetheless, space authorities have indicated the need for additional time to assess whether the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) accomplished its primary mission objective of achieving a precise and pinpoint landing on the lunar surface.
Officials reported that the spacecraft's solar panel had malfunctioned, potentially limiting its lunar activity duration. Despite this setback, space authorities believe that SLIM's small rovers were successfully deployed and are transmitting data back to Earth.
According to Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, a division of Japan's space agency, the solar battery of SLIM is not generating power, and it has only a few remaining hours of battery life. The primary focus now is on maximising data collection regarding the moon and the landing using the remaining battery capacity.
Japan follows the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India in reaching the moon.
Kuninaka said he believes that Japan’s space program at least achieved “minimum” success.
There was a tense wait for news after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s mission control initially said that SLIM was on the lunar surface, but that it was still “checking its status.” No further details were given until a news conference nearly two hours later.