The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is banking on SLIM’s high-precision technology to achieve a pinpoint landing within 100 meters (328 feet) of its designated target. This milestone is crucial for advancing lunar exploration, especially in the quest for lunar water and potential human habitation.
Nicknamed the “Moon Sniper,” SLIM will initiate a 20-minute touchdown phase from midnight on Saturday (15:00 GMT Friday). The target site, roughly the size of two athletic tracks, lies on the slope of a crater just south of the lunar equator, making this endeavour both technically challenging and groundbreaking.
Shinichiro Sakai, JAXA’s SLIM project manager, expressed the significance of Japan’s technological prowess, stating, “No other nation has achieved this. Proving Japan has this technology would bring us a huge advantage in upcoming international missions like Artemis,” referring to NASA’s crewed moon mission.
Japan, actively participating in NASA’s Artemis program, aims to send its astronauts to the moon, further solidifying its role in international space initiatives. However, JAXA has faced setbacks, including a recent launch failure. Success with SLIM would mark a technological triumph and enhance Japan’s strategic position in space exploration.
The SLIM mission follows in the wake of India’s Chandrayaan-3’s historic touchdown on the moon’s south pole, emphasizing the growing competition in space exploration. JAXA’s high-precision technology, if successful, will be a powerful tool for future lunar exploration, with plans for a joint unmanned lunar polar exploration with India in 2025.
Onboard the Moon Sniper spacecraft is the SORA-Q probe, a small robot with a transformative mission.
Developed by JAXA in collaboration with Takara Tomy, the toy company behind the original Transformers, this shape-shifting probe is set to explore and capture valuable images of a crater where parts of the moon’s mantle are believed to be exposed, unlocking hidden lunar mysteries.
