Japan to launch lunar lander tomorrow morning

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch the Smart Lander for Lunar Investigation (SLIM) at 7:26 a.m. on August 28 (Hanoi time).

Simulation of the SLIM landing station on the surface of the Moon. Photo: JAXA — Simulation of the SLIM landing station on the surface of the Moon. Photo: *JAXA*

SLIM is scheduled to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center on Japan's H2-A rocket. The lander is expected to touch down on the Moon 4-6 months later. This is Japan's second attempt in the past few months to land a vehicle on the lunar surface. The previous attempt was on April 25, when the ispace company attempted to land a lander on the celestial body but failed.

Also flying on the H-2A rocket tomorrow morning is the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). This is an X-ray imaging satellite jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), designed to study the evolution of the universe.

SLIM is a small lander with big goals. It aims to demonstrate precision lunar landing techniques. It is planned to land within 100 meters of a designated location inside Shioli Crater, much narrower than the usual range of several kilometers.

There, SLIM will study the environment inside Shioli, a 300-meter-wide impact crater located in the Mare Nectaris plain. The area is located at about 13 degrees south latitude and 25 degrees east longitude, on the near side of the Moon (the side facing Earth).

If SLIM lands safely on the Moon, Japan will become the fifth country to do so, after the Soviet Union, the United States, Japan and India. India just joined the list with its historic landing on August 23.

JAXA is a partner in NASA's Artemis Accords, which aim to explore the Moon and establish peaceful rules for space. The accord now has dozens of signatories. Last year, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that Japan would play a key role in the Artemis missions.

Thu Thao (According to Space )

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