Japan Moon Lander Revives After Lunar Night

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Japan Moon Lander Revives After Lunar Night

February 26, 2024 4:30 AM
By Agence France-Presse

TOKYO — Japan's moon lander has produced another surprise by waking up after the two-week lunar night, the country's space agency said Monday.

The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down last month at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way.

As the sun's angle shifted, it came back to life for two days and carried out scientific observations of a crater with a high-spec camera, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

It went to sleep again as darkness returned and, since it was "not designed for the harsh lunar nights," JAXA had been uncertain whether it would reawaken.

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Read more: https://www.voanews.com/a/japan-moon-lander-revives-after-lunar-night/7502538.html

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Why go through all that expense and not plan for

awkward landings, extreme temperatures? I mean why not a leveling mechanism on two legs, or a rotation motor on the solar panels? Engineers thought everything was going to go just peachy?