Japan becomes fifth country to land spacecraft on the moon, but vital solar cells aren't working
19 January 2024, 18:46
Japan has become the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, but the mission has run into serious difficulties already.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The unmanned spacecraft, called SLIM, touched down on the lunar surface on Friday, meaning the mission is technically a success.
But the spacecraft's solar cells appear not to be working, meaning that it cannot generate electricity to power the activities planned for it.
It is unclear why they are not working - one theory is that the spacecraft landed upside down.
That means that it is reliant on its batteries, which can last only a few hours, scientists working on the mission have said.
The mission team put SLIM into power-saving mode, taking steps like shutting down its heating capabilities to maximise battery life.
It is not completely certain that the solar cells have failed - they may simply be oriented away from the sun, so not currently generating electricity.
It is possible that when the moon changes position relative to the sun, the solar panels may start functioning properly.
SLIM, which is relatively small at 200kg, was set to carry out some scientific activities during its stay on the moon, which was supposed to last about two weeks.
If the solar panels do not start functioning, it will only last a few days.
Hitoshi Kuninaka, director general of Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, said: "The solar angle will change every month and the sunlight on the Moon will change.
"When the light from Earth shines from a different direction it could hit the solar cell, so we are considering this and we are hoping for SLIM to regain power."
As well as its scientific activities, SLIM's mission was important because it aimed to show that moon landings could be precise. It was also dubbed the 'Moon Sniper' for this reason.
The mission team had been aiming to land near a specific lunar crater. It is unclear how close to the target SLIM landed.
One official said: "Landing on the moon itself is very difficult, so doing something like this is very challenging and making effort is very important."
The first photo of SLIM on the moon was originally due to be released at around 7.20 UK time. But because of the issues with the landing this plan "cannot go ahead".
Mr Kuninaka said: "Some moon images may be shared with you. I believe that we will be able to make some data available in due course".
SLIM launched in September last year, and stayed within the Earth's orbit until recently. It entered the moon's orbit on Christmas Day, before preparing to begin its descent last Sunday.
The other countries that have made a moon landing are the Soviet Union, the US, China and India.
