An artist’s rendition of the SLIM lunar lander on the moon’s surface.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Japan staked a declare amongst nationwide house powers on Friday, as its SLIM spacecraft reached the lunar surface.
The nation’s SLIM lander launched in September and touched down on the lunar surface round 10:20 a.m. ET, in line with telemetry readings by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. Engineers had been checking the standing of the spacecraft shortly after its touchdown.
The feat makes Japan the fifth nation to land on the moon, following Russia (then the Soviet Union), the U.S., China and India. Last yr, India joined the checklist of moon landings with its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Japan’s SLIM, which stands for “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon,” is a cargo analysis mission. It carries quite a lot of scientific payloads, together with an evaluation digital camera and a pair of lunar rovers.
The SLIM lunar lander earlier than launch.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency