JAXA Slim Moon landing

SLIM the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon has successfully landed on the Moon, making it the 5th nation ever to successfully do so.

Landing on the Moon is a monumental achievement, but it’s not a feat solely accomplished by one nation. Here’s a quick tour of lunar landings by nation:

Pioneers:

• Soviet Union: In 1959, they achieved the first human-made object to reach the Moon’s surface with Luna 2 (crash landing). They followed with Luna 9 in 1966, the first soft landing and successful transmission of lunar images.
• United States: The famous Apollo 11 mission in 1969 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, marking the “giant leap for mankind.” Five more Apollo missions followed, with astronauts conducting scientific experiments and collecting samples.

Recent Players:

• China: Chang’e 3 in 2013 achieved the first soft landing on the Moon’s far side, and Chang’e 4 followed suit in 2018, deploying a rover. Their ambitions include future crewed missions.
• India: Chandrayaan-1 orbited the Moon in 2008 and made lunar discoveries. Chandrayaan-2 attempted a soft landing in 2019 but faced challenges. They aim for future soft landings and rovers.

The Difficulty? It’s No Cakewalk:

Landing on the Moon is incredibly complex due to several factors:

• Lunar Distance: Traveling 384,400 km requires powerful rockets and precise navigation.
• Lunar Environment: The Moon’s airless and dusty surface poses challenges for landing, temperature control, and radiation protection.
• Technical Hurdles: Developing reliable spacecraft, propulsion systems, and landing technologies require immense engineering prowess.
• Human Endurance: Astronauts face physical and psychological demands during travel, spacewalks, and lunar activities.

These challenges make each successful moon landing a remarkable achievement, showcasing the dedication and expertise of the nations involved. While the United States holds the distinction of the first crewed landing, other nations are actively pushing the boundaries of lunar exploration. The future promises further collaborations and discoveries, making the Moon a stepping stone for deeper space exploration.

Now Japan has added itself to the list of nations to achieve this. Personally I believe that especially this was remarkable.

SLIM attended a pin point landing, with a target area of only 100m accross.

As you can see by the breakinmg news section, if or if not the mission was a success was highly pending on the minute you watched.

While all monitoring systems confirmed that the lander has landed, a communication was initially not possible. Later it was confirmed that the solar panels do not produce electricity and the lander will operate on battery power until failure.

As of today, the system has power again and we can expect some amazing photos and science.