Solar panels on Japan's SLIM lunar lander fail to create electricity as needed
Japan's SLIM lunar lander made it to the moon on Friday but solar panels were not generating electricity as planned as of Friday afternoon. The lunar lander was still sending a signal but will run out of power in a matter of hours unless the solar panels begin charging the spacecraft. File Photo by JAXA/EPA-EFE
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Solar panels on the Japan space agency spacecraft that successfully landed on the moon Friday were not generating electricity as planned as of Friday afternoon.
The landing made Japan the fifth nation to land on the lunar surface.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, said in a Friday briefing that if that problem isn't quickly fixed, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, could be knocked out of commission.
That's because the onboard battery can only support the spacecraft functions for a few hours without the solar panels recharge.
The JAXA team is still receiving a signal from the robotic lunar explorer and is analyzing data to find the cause of the solar panels issue. They said it's possible the spacecraft isn't facing the planned direction.
They said it's possible if the lander's power lasts long enough the solar charger may start working as the solar angle on the moon changes. But it was unclear why the solar panels weren't functioning as intended. It's unlikely they were damaged in the landing because the rest fo the lander is operating as intended.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration SLIM arrived on the moon at 10:20 a.m. EST, but officials are now trying to deal with the solar panel problem.
"From the telemetry, what we see is the SLIM has landed," a JAXA spokesperson said. "We are now checking the status."
Japan joined the United States, Russia, China and India in making a soft landing on the moon. But the mission may not be able to be completed due to the solar panels issue.
SLIM lowered itself to about 10 miles above the moon's rocky ground before the landing, completing its four-month journey from Earth.
The spacecraft's cameras took photos of the moon's surface while on the descent and matched them to photos already loaded into its computer to detect its location. Japan space officials said SLIM was expected to land about 330 feet off the ground target on the rim of the Shioli Crater.
The landing could be a boon for Japan's space agency after recent failures. A small lander that took off from Earth in November 2022 never made it to the moon and in April 2023 the Hakuto-R spaceship crashed on the moon after a sensor failure.
Emma Gatti, a former NASA scientist and editor-in-chief of SpaceWatch Global called the Japanese landing "historic" given the size of the country and getting so close to its intended landing target, according to the BBC News.
Japan's SLIM lunar lander made it to the moon on Friday but solar panels were not generating electricity as planned as of Friday afternoon. The lunar lander was still sending a signal but will run out of power in a matter of hours unless the solar panels begin charging the spacecraft. File Photo by JAXA/EPA-EFE
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Solar panels on the Japan space agency spacecraft that successfully landed on the moon Friday were not generating electricity as planned as of Friday afternoon.
The landing made Japan the fifth nation to land on the lunar surface.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, said in a Friday briefing that if that problem isn't quickly fixed, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, could be knocked out of commission.
That's because the onboard battery can only support the spacecraft functions for a few hours without the solar panels recharge.
The JAXA team is still receiving a signal from the robotic lunar explorer and is analyzing data to find the cause of the solar panels issue. They said it's possible the spacecraft isn't facing the planned direction.
They said it's possible if the lander's power lasts long enough the solar charger may start working as the solar angle on the moon changes. But it was unclear why the solar panels weren't functioning as intended. It's unlikely they were damaged in the landing because the rest fo the lander is operating as intended.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration SLIM arrived on the moon at 10:20 a.m. EST, but officials are now trying to deal with the solar panel problem.
"From the telemetry, what we see is the SLIM has landed," a JAXA spokesperson said. "We are now checking the status."
Japan joined the United States, Russia, China and India in making a soft landing on the moon. But the mission may not be able to be completed due to the solar panels issue.
SLIM lowered itself to about 10 miles above the moon's rocky ground before the landing, completing its four-month journey from Earth.
The spacecraft's cameras took photos of the moon's surface while on the descent and matched them to photos already loaded into its computer to detect its location. Japan space officials said SLIM was expected to land about 330 feet off the ground target on the rim of the Shioli Crater.
The landing could be a boon for Japan's space agency after recent failures. A small lander that took off from Earth in November 2022 never made it to the moon and in April 2023 the Hakuto-R spaceship crashed on the moon after a sensor failure.
Emma Gatti, a former NASA scientist and editor-in-chief of SpaceWatch Global called the Japanese landing "historic" given the size of the country and getting so close to its intended landing target, according to the BBC News.
The country’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) used vision-based navigation (hence its nickname) to help it land on Friday. Ars Technica has a detailed explanation for how this all worked, while a translated video published on The Independent’s YouTube channel offers insight, as well.
Unfortunately, the craft’s solar panels malfunctioned, leaving it with only hours of battery left. A disappointing facet of the story. In the meantime, please enjoy this perfectly 80s arcade-style logo from Moon Sniper’s press materials (PDF).
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I really want to play the Moon Sniper arcade game.
Image: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
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