TOKYO: Japan’s space probe SLIM entered lunar orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country’s first successful lunar landing scheduled for next month.
The Smart Lunar Survey Lander (SLIM) is designed to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar surface, hence its nickname “Moon Sniper.”
If the touchdown is successful, Japan will become the fifth country to successfully land a probe on the moon, following the United States, Russia, China, and India.
SLIM “successfully entered lunar orbit at 4:51 p.m. Japan time,” the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced in a statement Monday night.
The agency said, “The orbit change was accomplished as originally planned, and no abnormalities were observed in the spacecraft’s condition.”
According to JAXA, the lander’s descent toward the moon will begin around midnight on January 20, Japan time, and landing on the lunar surface is scheduled for 20 minutes later.
After three delays due to bad weather, the H-IIA rocket was launched from Tanegashima in the south with a lander on board in September.
Published at Dawn on December 26, 2023