Shillong, August 27: Following the success of Chandrayaan-3, Japan’s space agency is gearing up to launch a lunar lander and an X-ray mission on the moon’s surface on Monday.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is leading the effort with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) project, which seeks to establish a lightweight probe system on a small scale and deploy pinpoint landing technology, essential for future lunar explorations.
As per IANS, a successful landing would make Japan the fifth nation to softly land on the moon, joining Russia, the United States, China, and India.
Simultaneously, the mission will carry the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) onboard a satellite, aiming to enable scientists to observe plasma within stars and galaxies.
Originally scheduled for Saturday, the launch was delayed due to adverse weather conditions. The updated launch date is set for Monday, with the launch taking place from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center using the H2-A rocket from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex.
JAXA explained in a statement, “The launch of the H-IIA Rocket No. 47 carrying the X-ray Spectroscopy and Imaging Satellite (XRISM) and the Small Lunar Lander Demonstration Vehicle (SLIM) was postponed to August 27, but the weather is expected to worsen.”
“We will reassess whether the launch on August 28 will be possible or not, depending on the weather conditions from tomorrow onwards,” the statement added.
The SLIM lander, known as “Moon Sniper” in Japanese, is projected to reach lunar orbit approximately 3 to 4 months after liftoff. If successful, it will touch down on the Shioli Crater’s slope—an impact feature measuring 300 meters across within Mare Nectaris—situated on the moon’s near side at 13 degrees south latitude and 25 degrees east longitude.
The primary goal of SLIM is to develop a compact and lightweight probe system along with precise landing technology, contributing to future lunar exploration endeavors.
Additionally, the XRISM mission, a collaborative effort involving NASA, JAXA, and support from the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to study X-rays released by intense phenomena like hot gas clouds enveloping galaxies and emissions from black holes.
Matteo Guainazzi, ESA project scientist for XRISM, highlighted the significance of X-ray astronomy, stating, “X-ray astronomy enables us to study the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. It holds the key to answering important questions in modern astrophysics: how the largest structures in the Universe evolve, how the matter we are ultimately composed of was distributed through the cosmos, and how galaxies are shaped by massive black holes at their centres.”