The last photo the lander took at Shioli Crater/Official website, JAXA
Against all odds, the unmanned SLIM spacecraft of the Japanese space agency JAXA has managed to restart itself more than a week after landing on the moon upside down with solar panels pointing in the wrong direction.
Now, she has gone into hibernation for the duration of the lunar night (a period when a certain side of the moon is not illuminated by the sun), which can disable her permanently.
Meanwhile, the team from the Japanese Space Agency shared on Thursday the last photo the lander took in the Shioli Crater - an eerie black and white record of the lunar soil
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The lunar night lasts about two dry weeks on Earth, when temperatures can reach 93 degrees below zero.
Despite the temporary encouraging news, experts worry that the extreme temperatures and prolonged darkness will drain the lander's batteries, preventing it from using its solar panels to recharge itself.
"We are aware of the difficulties that the moonlit night presents to us," said a spokesman for the Japanese space agency.
"We will continue to follow the lander and try to make contact with it, but its future is clouded."
After completing operation from 1/30 ~ 1/31, #SLIM entered a two week dormancy period during the long lunar night?.
Although SLIM was not designed for the harsh lunar nights, we plan to try to operate again from mid-February, when the Sun will shine again on SLIM's solar cells.
pic.twitter.com/JO4ZgDaOxo
— 小小月着陸実証機SLIM (@SLIM_JAXA) February 1, 2024
The landing of the unmanned spacecraft "Slim" was historic for Japan, as it entered the prestigious club of powers that have so far managed to land various spacecraft on the moon.
The mission was designed to explore the lunar soil and look for signs of water.
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