Japanese SLIM Lander Will Enter Landing Stage On The Moon

The SLIM aircraft is preparing to land on the Moon (photo: dock. JAXA)

JAKARTA The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that the Smart Lander for Investigation Moon (SLIM) has entered the preparation stage for landing on the lunar surface.

On Wednesday, January 10, SLIM entered lunar orbit. The aircraft's operational results went well and according to the launch plan. Therefore, SLIM has entered the landing preparation stage.

After continuing the stages, JAXA has also carried out a propellant injection by lowering the apolune or the furthest point of the month on Sunday, January 14. The process has been completed and the SLIM will enter a circular orbit in the near future.

Manuver penurunan apolune berhasil dilaksanakan dan selesai pada tanggal 14 Januari 2024 pukul 17:32 JST. Pesawat SLIM dipastikan akan masuk ke dalam orbit bercir pada ketinggian yang direncanakan sekitar 600 kilometer, tulis JAXA dalam keterangan resmi.

In the near future, the aircraft will carry out a title descent maneuver or the closest point to the moon. This point will be lowered to a height of 15 kilometers on Friday, January 19.

If the prime decline is successful, the only remaining stage is landing. JAXA said that the landing would take place on Saturday, January 20 at 00.00 local time, and the plane would land 20 minutes later.

SLIM will follow the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lander which reached the lunar surface in August last year. The successful SLIM landing will make Japan the fifth country to land smoothly on the Moon.

SLIM is part of a landing demonstration in the desired place. After successfully landing, the aircraft will experiment with Multi-BandCamera (MBC) to assess the composition of the Shioli crater.

This aircraft will analyze the spectrum of sunlight reflected from the surface. From the results of this study, JAXA wants to find olivine minerals that are thought to come out of the bottom of the lunar crust.