Japan Landed on the Moon for the First Time in Its History

Countries around the world continue their moves in space research. For example, Turkish citizen Alper Gezeravcı set out for the International Space Station on the night between January 18 and January 19. Now an important step has come from Japan.

Japanlanded on the Moon for the first time in its history. The SLIM spacecraft sent by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will arrive at the Moon this evening. soft landing carried out. This mission made Japan the fifth country to send a vehicle to the Moon.

SLIM successfully landed

SLIM landed on the Moon around 18.20 GMT. The vehicle, which also carried several small robots, landed around 100 meters away from the crater called Shioli. The vehicle is expected to remain operational on the Moon for 1 day. So he will be alive for a very short time.

The vehicle was launched with Japan’s H-2A rocket in September last year. SLIM, which went through a slow and long journey by saving energy, reached our satellite towards the end of December. Afterwards, it was prepared for the landing day, that is, today, for three weeks.

An artist’s rendering of the SLIM Moon landing.

SLIM, also known as “Moon sniper”, is a new technology that will enable future spacecraft to make precise landings on other planets or satellites. testing navigation technology. In other words, it will show that in Moon missions, it is possible to land in desired places rather than just easy places. The purpose of the mission is to showcase these abilities.

JAXA states that this technology may be useful for landing in rugged areas of the Moon in the future. The agency adds that it could take up to a month to verify whether the mission achieved its objectives. It will also examine the crater with cameras. Small rovers that will be separated from the vehicle will travel on the lunar surface.

This is actually not Japan’s first attempt to land on the Moon. In 2022, a trial was carried out with a vehicle called OMOTENASHI. However, the connection was lost and the mission failed.