Nobody would have expected that the Japanese Slim Mission would wake up again after the cold moonlit nights. In April, the lander will do this for the third time – even though it was not designed for the strong temperature fluctuations on the moon.
The Japanese lunar module Slim appears to be defying all odds on our stellar neighbor. In mid-April, Slim woke up from a moonlit night for the third time. On April 23, 2024, the signal about successful reactivation reached Earth.
Japan’s lunar probe is exposed to strong temperature fluctuations
However, the design of the spacecraft is not designed for the cold nights on the satellite. These last about 14 Earth days and during this time temperatures drop to -170 degrees Celsius.
As soon as the sun rises on the moon again, temperatures rise to around +100 degrees Celsius. These strong fluctuations were actually supposed to be fatal for the lander and its instruments. Especially because Slim unexpectedly pointed his nose to the ground when he landed on January 19, 2019. This means that the solar collectors receive less sun – therefore generate less electricity.
Lunar Module Slim: Primary functions are intact
The first lunar night began on January 31st and ended on February 15th. The Japanese space agency Jaxa then tried to reestablish contact with the lander. Surprisingly successful. The next night fell on February 29th. During a new operational test in mid-March, Jaxa found that the lander’s most important functions were still working. And that seems to be the case again now.
“Slim maintained its primary functions even after three nights, which was not intended in its design,” the space agency announced via the short message service X. “We will continue to closely monitor Slim’s condition and hope to identify areas of dependency from the lunar day and night environment, as well as areas not susceptible to deterioration.”
International cooperation: Indian orbiter observes Japanese lander
While Slim is again sending images of the lunar surface, independent Indian researcher Chandra Tungathurthi used the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter for surveillance from space. He posted some of the pictures he took on his X-Feed.
Tungathurthi wrote: “I have Slim with the high-resolution orbital camera on board Chandrayaan-2 [auf der Mondoberfläche] “discovered,” writes Tungathurthi. His photo was taken on March 16, 2024 with a resolution of 16 centimeters per pixel. “Because of the low position of the sun, you can see long shadows.”
This topic in the program:MDR CURRENT | April 25, 2024 | 12:45 p.m
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