A private lander touched down on the moon on February 22 but managed just a weak signal back, as flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact with the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the lunar surface in more than 50 years. Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the craft, …
Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when one of its spacecrafts without astronauts successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface early Saturday. However, space officials said they need more time to analyze whether the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, achieved its mission priority of making a …
Japan gave the green light for its spacecraft to make a “precision” landing on the Moon on Friday, its bid to become the world’s fifth country to achieve a moonshot and revitalise a space programme that has suffered a wave of recent setbacks. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the Smart Lander for Investigating …
Japan hopes to make the world’s first “pinpoint landing” on the moon early Saturday, joining a modern push for lunar contact with roots in the Cold War-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Japan’s attempt to bring down its lander at a precise location follows the April failure of a Japanese …
In a bid to overcome setbacks, Japan is set to attempt a soft landing on the moon’s surface with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon early Saturday morning (January 20). The country seeks to join the exclusive club of nations achieving a successful soft landing on the moon. The United States, Russia (erstwhile USSR), China, …
At 1.21 pm IST on December 25, Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft entered into orbit around the moon after a months-long journey, and ahead of its planned moon-landing attempt on January 19. If the attempt succeeds, Japan will become only the fifth country to soft-land a robotic craft on the natural satellite, …