The landing was not very smooth, as the Japanese probe turned on its side – Corriere.it

for this reason Japanese slim probe The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon had problems with its solar panels not providing power: it flipped on its side upon reaching Scioli Crater. This was discovered by the small spherical Sora-Q rover, about the size of a baseball, which was able to take a photo as soon as it emerged from the Lev-1 container, which moves by hopping like a grasshopper but remains like the mother probe without power. Sora-Q and Lev-1 were successfully launched by Slim. to'Japanese space agency JAXA He said in a statement that he hopes that in the next few weeks, as the moon continues its orbit, sunlight can reach the solar panels and provide more energy. To save what little is left, The probe was shut down, waiting for better times.

success

But JAXA considers the mission a success: Japan is the fifth country after the United States of America, the Soviet Union, China and India to land an operational probe on lunar soil. Slim was able to reach a distance of only 55 meters east of the expected point because the on-board computer decided at the last minute to change course to avoid obstacles on the ground. The probe, which landed on January 19 at 4.20pm (Italian time), is now lying along the slope of Scioli Crater.

Missing missile nozzle

According to JAXA managers, Slim landed on his side due to the loss of one of the missile's two suppressor nozzles, which occurred at an altitude of about 50 meters above sea level. The probe is supposed to reach Earth at a speed of 1.4 meters per second, or about 5 kilometers per hour.