Current:Home > MarketsJapanese flight controllers re-establish contact with tipped-over SLIM moon lander-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Japanese flight controllers re-establish contact with tipped-over SLIM moon lander
lotradecoin staking and earning rewards View Date:2024-12-26 03:15:37
Japanese flight controllers re-established contact with the robotic SLIM lunar lander Saturday, eight days after the spacecraft tipped over and lost power as it was touching down on Jan. 19, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced Sunday.
An engine malfunction moments before landing caused the Smart Landing for Investigating (the) Moon, or SLIM, spacecraft to drift to one side during its final descent instead of dropping straight down to the surface.
That lateral velocity apparently caused the probe to tilt over as it touched down, leaving its solar cells, attached to the top of the lander, facing away from the sun. Without solar power, the spacecraft was forced to rely on the dwindling power in its on-board battery.
After downloading a few photographs and collecting as much engineering data as possible, commands were sent to shut the spacecraft down while it still had a small reserve of battery power.
At the time, officials said they were hopeful contact could be restored when the angle between the sun and SLIM's solar cells changed as the moon swept through its orbit.
In the meantime, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed the SLIM landing site last week from an altitude of 50 miles, showing the spacecraft as a tiny speck of reflected light on the moon's cratered surface:
No details were immediately available Sunday, but the team said in a post on X that it "succeeded in establishing communication with SLIM last night and have resumed operations! We immediately started scientific observations with MBC (multi-band camera), and have successfully obtained first light."
The target was a nearby rock formation nicknamed "toy poodle."
It was not immediately known if enough power was available to recharge SLIM's battery, how long engineers expected the spacecraft to operate with the available power or whether it might be shut down again to await additional power generation.
Despite its problems, SLIM successfully landed on the moon, making Japan the fifth nation to pull off a lunar landing after the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and India
Three commercially developed robotic landers launched over the last few years from Japan, Israel and the United States all suffered malfunctions that prevented intact landings.
A fourth commercial lander, built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, is scheduled for launch next month.
- In:
- Artemis Program
- Space
- NASA
Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News.
TwitterveryGood! (26334)
Related
- Kim Kardashian Says Her Four Kids Try to Set Her Up With Specific Types of Men
- It’s a ‘silly notion’ that Trump’s Georgia case should pause for the election, Willis tells the AP
- Supreme Court to hear abortion pill case
- Jeffrey Foskett, longtime Beach Boys musician and Brian Wilson collaborator, dies at 67
- A stowaway groundhog is elevated to local icon
- Apple releases iOS 17.2 update for iPhone, iPad: New features include Journal app, camera upgrade
- Washington state college student dies and two others are sickened in apparent carbon monoxide leak
- Body in Philadelphia warehouse IDed as inmate who escaped in 4th city breakout this year
- Giants trading Jordan Phillips to Cowboys in rare deal between NFC East rivals
- Far-right Dutch election winner Wilders wants to be prime minister, promises to respect constitution
Ranking
- What to stream: Post Malone goes country, Sydney Sweeney plays a nun and Madden 25 hits the field
- Commuters stranded in traffic for hours after partial bridge shutdown in Rhode Island
- Judge questions whether legal cases cited by Michael Cohen’s lawyer actually exist
- Kentucky woman seeking court approval for abortion learns her embryo has no cardiac activity
- Streamer stayed awake for 12 days straight to break a world record that doesn't exist
- Coming home, staying home: ‘Apollo 13' and ‘Home Alone’ among 25 films picked for national registry
- Gift card scams 2023: What to know about 'card draining' and other schemes to be aware of
- The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication
Recommendation
-
Wisconsin’s Evers urges federal judge not to make changes at youth prison in wake of counselor death
-
The AP names its five Breakthrough Entertainers of 2023
-
Apple releases beta version of Stolen Device Protection feature
-
New Hampshire attorney general files second complaint against white nationalist group
-
US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
-
Saudi registrants for COP28 included undeclared oil company employees, nonprofit says
-
New Hampshire attorney general files second complaint against white nationalist group
-
NCAA survey of 23,000 student-athletes shows mental health concerns have lessened post-pandemic