Japan launches lunar landing station.

The SLIM probe will reach lunar orbit in 3-4 months and land inside a 300-meter-wide crater.

According to Space.com, Japan's H-2A rocket carrying the SLIM lander and XRISM space telescope lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 6:42 AM Hanoi time on September 6th, 10 days later than originally planned.

Both spacecraft deployed on schedule in less than an hour after liftoff. If all goes according to plan, in a few months, SLIM (Sun Intelligent Lunar Station) will attempt the first gentle landing on the Moon, paving the way for more ambitious missions. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), SLIM aims to test a lightweight exploration system on a small scale and utilize the precision landing technology necessary for future lunar exploration spacecraft.

SLIM is a small spacecraft, measuring 2.4 m high, 2.7 m long, and 1.7 m wide. Upon liftoff, the spacecraft weighed 700 kg, but fuel accounted for approximately 70% of its weight. SLIM will fly along a long, fuel-efficient route, expected to reach lunar orbit in 3-4 months. The spacecraft will observe the lunar surface for a month before landing inside the Shioli Crater, a 300-meter-wide impact crater located at 13 degrees south latitude, thereby testing precision landing technology.

"By creating the SLIM lander, we can land at a desired location instead of a prime landing spot. With this technology, humans can set foot on planets even more resource-scarce than the Moon," JAXA said.

SLIM also carried two mini-probes, which were launched onto the lunar surface after landing. The pair of mini-probes would help the mission control team monitor the condition of the larger lander, photograph the landing area, and provide direct communication with Earth.

Previously, the Hakuto-R lunar lander, built by the private company Hakuto-R in Tokyo, also approached lunar orbit but crashed to the surface during landing last April. Therefore, the success of SLIM would be a historic milestone. To date, only four countries have sent probes to the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and India. India achieved its goal last month when the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed near the Moon's south pole.

In addition to SLIM, the rocket also carried the XRISM spacecraft (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), a collaborative project between JAXA, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA), operating in low Earth orbit. This telescope will study the universe using high-energy X-ray light. The observatory will focus particularly on superheated gas surrounding galaxy clusters. JAXA designed XRISM to detect X-ray light from superheated gas, helping astronomers measure the total mass of galaxy systems, thereby revealing information about the formation and evolution of the universe.

An Khang (According to Space )

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