January 26, 2024
TOKYO – The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) released on Thursday an image showing the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, standing on the moon, as well as the results of an analysis of data the probe transmitted back to Earth. The image of SLIM, which successfully touched down on the lunar surface before dawn on Saturday, was captured by a small robot. In the image, the probe is seen where it landed with its engines facing upward, giving it the appearance of standing on its head.
The small robot, SORA-Q — which weighs about 250 grams and was jointly developed by JAXA, toymaker Tomy Co., Sony Group Corp. and Doshisha University — had separated from the lunar probe just before landing and captured the image of SLIM after it had touched down.
According to JAXA, SLIM is believed to have successfully performed a high-precision landing, settling down within 100 meters of the targeted spot.