Japan made history by becoming only the fifth country to successfully complete a soft landing on the moon with its 'Moon Sniper' robotic explorer, but the mission may end prematurely because the spacecraft's solar cell is not generating electricity, CNN reported, citing the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The agency stated that it is now receiving signals from the lander, which is communicating as planned.
The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, mission landed shortly after 10:20 a.m. ET Friday (12:20 a.m. local time), according to telemetry data published on JAXA's live broadcast.
The lander is currently running on restricted battery power, which is expected to last several hours, while the JAXA team analyses the data to discover the reason of the solar cell issue and the lander's next actions. According to JAXA authorities, the solar cell issue might be caused by the spacecraft not pointing in the proper direction.
According to CNN, there is still hope that once the sun angle shifts on the moon, the solar cell may be able to charge again, but this may take some time and is dependent on whether SLIM can survive the chilly lunar night, the researchers stated during a press conference.
The government believes the mission satisfied the criteria for a "minimum success," as the spacecraft used optical navigation to land precisely and softly on the moon. Japan becomes the third country to land on the moon this century, and the fifth altogether.
When asked to rate the landing operation for SLIM, JAXA director general Dr. Hitoshi Kuninaka awarded it a "60 out of 100," noting that he is renowned for offering "harsh comments."
The crew is also attempting to compile all of the scientific data collected by the lander.
The lander successfully released its two lunar rovers, LEV-1 and LEV-2. The LEV-1 rover travels by hopping and is outfitted with wide-angle visible light cameras, scientific instruments, and antennae for communication with Earth, according to CNN. The LEV-2 is likewise equipped with cameras and can change form to navigate around the lunar surface.
Meanwhile, the crew is getting a signal from LEV-1 and will determine whether its cameras were able to record any photographs, but the condition of LEV-2 will not be confirmed until additional data is received.
The small-scale SLIM robotic explorer, which launched in September, was dubbed "Moon Sniper" because it contained new precise equipment to show a "pinpoint" landing.
Previous lunar missions were able to target and reach particular zones spanning several kilometres, but the SLIM lander targeted a landing location of only 100 metres (328 feet) across. The lander's "smart eyes"—an image-matching-based navigation technology—quickly surveyed the lunar surface on approach and automatically made modifications as the spacecraft descended to landing on a sloping surface, as CNN reported.