The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recently made a significant announcement about its “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon” (SLIM) mission, confirming its successful entry into lunar orbit at 1.21 PM IST. If the mission accomplishes its objectives, Japan will join a select group of nations capable of executing a soft landing of a probe on the Moon—an achievement recently attained by India with the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
SLIM has been positioned in an elliptical lunar orbit bridging the Moon’s south and north poles, completing a cycle approximately every 6.4 hours. Its trajectory varies between an altitude of about 600 kilometers at its closest point to the Moon (perilune) and 4,000 kilometers at its farthest point (apolune). Over the next few months until mid-January 2024, JAXA plans to progressively reduce SLIM’s apolune altitude. The perilune point is scheduled to be lowered to a mere 15 kilometers on January 19, initiating the lander’s descent toward the lunar surface on January 20.
Despite its diminutive size at just 200 kilograms—considerably lighter than the Chandrayaan-3 lander weighing approximately 1,750 kilograms—SLIM aims to showcase precision landing capabilities, aiming to touch down within a mere 100 meters of the designated site.
JAXA underscores the criticality of precise landing technology, emphasizing its significance in enabling spacecraft to access scientifically intriguing lunar sites reachable by a rover. SLIM’s target is to land near a small crater named Shinoli, located in the Moon’s equatorial region, furthering the exploration of these intriguing lunar landscapes.