The first image of Japan's moon landing mission has been revealed

Japanese mission lander / Photo courtesy of JAXA

Japan has released the first image of its moon landing mission.


The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that its mission had successfully landed within its intended target.


This mission named Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLAM) landed on the moon on January 19 and thus Japan became the 5th country in the world to reach the moon.



The Japanese space agency said it had received all the mission's data 2 hours 37 minutes after landing on the moon.


"We need to do a more detailed analysis of the data, but the mission made a pinpoint landing within 3 to 4 meters of the intended target," The declaration continued


It should be noted that the primary objective of this mission was to demonstrate the capability of pinpoint landing within 100 meters of the selected landing site.


The agency also released the first color image of the mission, which shows the lander falling upside down on the surface of the moon.


According to the statement, one of the lander's two engines may have shut down during the final phase of the lunar landing, causing it to land upside down.

The mission was launched on September 7, 2023 / AFP PHOTO

Although the mission was successful, its solar panels failed to generate electricity.


The Japanese space agency said the problem was likely caused by the landing at the wrong angle, and that changing the direction of sunlight is likely to restore the mission's energy.


For this reason, the mission was aborted 3 hours after landing on the moon to help recover the lander.


But before switching off, Slim had downloaded the image and other data.


Note that the Japanese mission was launched to the moon in September 2023.


After more than 4 months, the Japanese mission succeeded in pinpoint landing on the moon.


This is slightly different from the soft landing technique of the Chandrayaan 3 mission.


Earlier, the missions of America, Russia, China and India have successfully landed on the surface of the moon.