The JAXA SLIM lunar lander has awakened! The mission can continue

As we have had the opportunity to write in recent days, the Lander Jaxa Slim (The smart probe to investigate the moon) A Soft landing On the The surface of the moon Transmit useful data and images for a few hours, allowing engineers to obtain important information and thus confirm that Japan is the fifth country to have landed on lunar soil.

Unfortunately, due to a problem with one of the main propulsion devices (particularly the loss of the nozzle), it was destroyed Lander not My painting In the correct position but leaning forward with the i Solar Panels Facing west. This was not allowed Jaxa Slim To recharge the batteries as expected, the engineers decided to leave 12% of the remaining charge to allow the batteries to be charged Lander to “I wake up” If the sun returns to illuminate that area properly (Schioli Crater). Meanwhile, NASA's LRO spacecraft was able to capture an image showing the successful landing with the exact location pinpointed, as expected.

The JAXA SLIM lander woke up on the moon's surface

We expected to have news on February 1 when the sun, as it set in the landing zone, could illuminate the solar panels and recharge the batteries (using the lander programmed to emerge from Earth). comment and contact with the ground). there JAXA However, he continued to send messages to Luna to try “Don't miss the call” Subordinate Japanese lunar lander.

As of a few hours ago, the situation had not changed and no responses had been reported. However, something changed at 9.11pm (Italian time) when the antennas were turned on Amsat-DL They picked up Signal coming from Luna. After a few minutes, this was indeed confirmed Jaxa Slim who attempted to contact the listening antennas for the first contact until 9.21pm (Italian time).

I Lander It then continued transmitting at 10.02pm while the signal was from Rover Leaf-1 Which should be nearby and also equipped with a small solar panel (which has the ability to communicate with the Earth independently of the lander). On the other hand, the LEV-2 was equipped with batteries only and was not expected to have a long operational life (a few hours). This means that LEV-2 will no longer operate or transmit.

Amateur (but certainly reliable) astronomer. Scott Tilley Analysis has begun From the data provided by Amsat-DL To make sure that the signal was actually from Moderate build. The initial conclusion is that it is actually a signal coming from the moon and everything indicates that it is indeed the Japanese lunar lander. Although there is no absolute certainty (at the moment), everything indicates that it is in fact SLIM and not a possible signal from other devices or interference due to satellites or other sensors. The base was initially equipped with transmitters at the time of the moon landing, the origin of which was confirmed.

currently JAXA It has not confirmed contact with SLIM and the space agency has not provided information about what exactly will happen next Lander A stable connection will be re-established. We don't know if the agency intends to try to change its position Intelligent lander for lunar exploration With the main engine still running (which still has some propellant) or whether to try “Just” To continue getting useful data on your current location. According to some preliminary calculations The sun is expected to set in the lunar landing zone on January 31 at 10:00 am (Italian time). The vehicle will therefore have a few days to fully charge its batteries and then be able to use the stored energy to continue operations. This would suggest that JAXA They won't use their thrusters until the sun has completely set, taking advantage of every minute of available light.