The Japanese spacecraft survived a two-week night on the moon

The Japanese lunar sniper spacecraft survived a two-week night on the moon

JAXA

The Japanese lunar sniper spacecraft survived a two-week night on the moon. He responded to a signal from Earth.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) unmanned vehicle, nicknamed “Lunar Sniper”, landed on the moon in January. He immediately had problems with the solar panels – they were turned the wrong way, so they did not produce energy.

When the angle of inclination of the Sun changed, the device was powered on for two days and managed to conduct scientific observations of the lunar crater.

With the return of darkness, “Moon Sniper” fell asleep again. It was unclear whether he would “wake up” yet, reports The Guardian.

“Yesterday we sent a command to which Slim responded. He managed to survive the night on the surface of the moon while retaining his communication function.” – said the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

According to him, the communication stopped when it was still midday on the moon and the temperature of the communication equipment was very high.

“Preparations are now being made to resume operation when the temperature of the devices cools down enough,” – added in the agency.

It will be recalled that the “Moon Sniper” landed near the crater called Shioli. This lunar zone is rich in rocks and minerals, particularly olivine.