Tokyo. After the failure of a private lunar mission last year, Japan had hoped for the success of a government project. The probe also reached the target. But there were problems during the landing.
As of Friday evening, Japan had succeeded in its planned soft landing on the moon – but there were problems with the power supply. The solar panel is not working, it was said at a press conference with experts from Japan’s space agency Jaxa.
The “SLIM” (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) lander is still communicating with the ground station and receiving data. The battery capacity is expected to last for a few hours. Further findings can be expected with the evaluation of further data. It cannot yet be said whether the landing took place as planned within a zone of 100 meters.
“SLIM” set off for the moon on board a Japanese H2A carrier rocket from the Japanese Tanegashima spaceport last September.
Last April, a private Japanese company failed in a similar mission. The reason given by the company Ispace was an incorrect altitude calculation of the lander. At the beginning of last week, the US company Astrobotic failed to put the “Peregrine” lander on the moon. It would have been the first private landing there ever.
The US mission started successfully, but then there were problems with the propulsion system. According to the operating company Astrobotic, contact with the capsule was lost on Thursday. It was said that it probably crashed over the South Pacific and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, as planned after the failure of the moon flight.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240119-99-678640/5 (dpa)