Japan is on the verge of making history as it strives to become the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. The attempt, set for Friday, is a crucial moment for Japan's space program, which has faced challenges and found itself overshadowed by its competitor, China.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is leading the mission, aptly nicknamed the "moon sniper." The objective is to achieve a precision landing within a mere 100 meters (328 feet) of the target. JAXA asserts that this technology is groundbreaking and vital for exploring moon water and assessing the potential habitability for humans.
Japan's aspiration to play a more significant role in space is evident, as it collaborates closely with ally Washington to counter China's military and technological advancements, particularly in space. The country boasts several private-sector space startups and has set its sights on sending an astronaut to the moon, aligning with NASA's Artemis program.
However, JAXA has faced hurdles, including a launch failure in March involving the new flagship rocket H3, intended to compete in cost-effectiveness against commercial rocket providers like SpaceX.
JAXA's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe is scheduled to begin a 20-minute touchdown phase on its one-way mission from midnight on Saturday (1500 GMT Friday). The landing site is roughly the size of two athletic tracks on the slope of a crater just south of the lunar equator.
Shinichiro Sakai, JAXA's SLIM project manager, emphasized the significance of this mission, stating, "No other nation has achieved this. Proving Japan has this technology would bring us a huge advantage in upcoming international missions like Artemis."
While India's Chandrayaan-3 accomplished a historic touchdown on the moon's south pole in August, JAXA emphasizes that its high-precision technology will be a valuable tool for future exploration, especially in hilly moon poles, potentially rich in oxygen, fuel, and water. Japan plans a joint unmanned lunar polar exploration with India in 2025.
Kazuto Saiki, a Ritsumeikan University professor involved in SLIM's development, highlighted the importance of building sought-after technologies like pinpoint landing and near-infrared cameras for lunar project development.
Although JAXA has successfully landed on small asteroids twice, a moon landing poses more significant challenges due to its gravity, as seen in recent failures by other space agencies.
While SLIM's precision landing might not be a game-changer, it could pave the way for reduced mission costs globally, making moonshots more accessible for space organizations. JAXA expects to verify SLIM's high-precision success within a month after touchdown.
Upon landing, SLIM will deploy two mini-probes—a hopping vehicle the size of a microwave oven and a baseball-sized wheeled rover. These robots were jointly developed by tech giant Sony Group, toymaker Tomy, and several Japanese universities.
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