'SLIM responded to command': Japan's Moon lander revives after two-week lunar night

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said on Monday (Feb 26) that its Moon lander was revived after a two-week lunar night. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, commonly known as SLIM, touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. In a post on X, the JAXA said as the Sun's angle shifted, SLIM came back to life for two days and carried out scientific observations of a crater with a high-spec camera.

The lander went back to sleep again as darkness returned and, since it was "not designed for the harsh lunar nights", JAXA had been uncertain whether it would reawaken.

"Last night, a command was sent to SLIM and a response received, confirming that the spacecraft has made it through the lunar night and maintained communication capabilities!" the space agency said.

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"Communication with SLIM was terminated after a short time, as it was still lunar midday and the temperature of the communication equipment was very high. Preparations are being made to resume operations when instrument temperatures have sufficiently cooled," it said in a subsequent post.

SLIM made a pinpoint touchdown on the moon on Jan 19, making Japan the fifth country to put a probe on the moon. However, during its descent, the craft suffered engine problems and ended up on its side, meaning the solar panels were facing west instead of up.

Last week, Japan successfully launched its new H3 flagship rocket. On Feb 17, the H3 lifted off at 9.22 am local time and successfully released a small satellite. The rocket also released a microsatellite and a dummy satellite during its flight of nearly two hours.

"The newborn H3 has just made its first cry", JAXA project manager Masashi Okada, who has led the decade-long development of the new rocket, told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)