Japan lands on Moon but glitch threatens mission [View all]

Source: BBC

Japan lands on Moon but glitch threatens mission

19 January 2024

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent

A Japanese robot has successfully touched down on the Moon but problems with its solar power system mean the mission may live for just a few hours.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) put itself gently on the lunar surface near an equatorial crater.

The feat made the Asian nation only the fifth country to soft-land on Earth's natural satellite, after the US, the Soviet Union, China and India.

Engineers are now battling to save the mission, however.

For reasons not yet fully understood, the craft's solar cells will not generate electricity.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68035314