Japan’s Lunar Lander SLIM Resumes Operations

Japan’s lunar lander, SLIM, has successfully regained power and resumed its operations following a period of silence, during which it had landed upside down. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced on Sunday that communication with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was reestablished on Saturday night, with the Multi-Band Camera back online and operational.

JAXA expressed excitement at the resumption of SLIM’s activities and hoped that the spacecraft’s solar panels, once powered by the sun, would enable it to commence its scientific work. This work involves investigating the moon’s origins and searching for clues about its composition.

Before losing power on January 20, SLIM had captured images of the lunar landscape and rocks. JAXA reported that the team, based on these images, is identifying rocks of interest and assigning nicknames to each, intending to facilitate communication about their relative sizes.

The nicknames given to these rocks include Toy Poodle, Bulldog, St. Bernard, Akitainu, Shibainu, and Kaiken. SLIM had also deployed small exploratory robots, LEV-1 and LEV-2, on the moon’s surface to conduct scientific activities such as testing radio wave transmissions and other movements.

JAXA scientists are specifically seeking evidence of materials on the moon’s surface that may originate from its mantle, a layer near the satellite’s core. The successful reactivation of SLIM brings renewed optimism to Japan’s lunar exploration efforts.