Japan Successfully Lands on the Moon
Japan is now a part of an elite group of nations, including the United States of America, the Soviet Union, Communist China, and India.
Japan recently became the fifth nation to achieve a successful spacecraft landing on the Moon. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed at around 12:20 a.m. Tokyo time on Jan. 20 (1520 GMT Jan. 19), as confirmed by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
It took several hours for mission control to confirm the landing as a success, although not a complete one. JAXA issued an official statement stating “the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) successfully landed on the moon surface on January 20, 2024, at 0:20 am (JST).” However, they also reported that the solar cells are currently not generating power, and they aim to prioritize data acquisition from SLIM on the moon.
Although the rover deployment and soft landing are only seen as reaching “minimum” success, JAXA views it as a step forward.
Additionally, JAXA has partnered with NASA on the Artemis project to ensure a permanent human presence on the Moon.
