Usually the world does not remember…the revelation of pictures of the “SLIM” spacecraft landing face-on on the moon.

Revealing images of the Japanese SLIM spacecraft that successfully landed on the surface of the moon. But something went wrong during landing. Instead, the head was planted on the moon.

January 26, 2024 Facebook Nareit National Institute for Astronomical Research He posted a photo with the caption: “This is a photo of the Japanese SLIM spacecraft. That successfully landed on the surface of the moon but an error occurred during landing. Instead of landing normally but it turned out that the head of the spacecraft had been planted on the surface of the moon instead.”

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) published images of the SLIM landing on Wednesday night, January 24, 2024, taken by the miniature exploration robot LEV-2 (Lunar Exploration Vehicle-2), also known as SORA-Q, one of two small robotic probes sent to the Moon with… SLIM spacecraft.

This is a lunar exploration mission. There is not only the SLIM spacecraft that has the highest touch on the lunar surface in its class. But there are also two small scanning robots the size of tennis balls, LEV-1 and LEV-2, that keep track of tasks. Both robots are designed to transform from a spherical cube into two halves. In order to crawl around on the moon

SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, is a spacecraft designed to demonstrate the technology needed to land on another planet with high precision. The spacecraft reached lunar orbit on Christmas last year. It landed on the moon's surface on January 19, 2024. The SLIM spacecraft's landing did not go as smoothly as astronomers had intended. Due to the time the car was in contact with the ground the call signal disappeared. The mission control team speculated that the accident may have been caused by a defect in the solar panels.

Not long after that the surveillance team received another signal. This image taken by the LEV-2 spacecraft shows the SLIM spacecraft parked upside down on the moon's surface. This is the reason why the vehicle cannot generate electricity. This is because the front part of the solar panel is not exposed to sunlight.

Although the landing of the SLIM spacecraft was not as beautiful as expected, but beneath this zero gravity, there was still a hidden success. This means that both mini scanning robots are still working fine. They can communicate with each other. This image is an image captured by LEV-2 and sent to LEV-1 before sending the data back to Earth.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says the SLIM spacecraft is still operational. Although the signal is quiet, the operator's team is preparing to revive the vehicle. It is hoped that on February 1, 2024, the day the sun will set above the horizon in the area where the SLIM spacecraft is parked, this may be possible and the spacecraft will be able to produce electricity again. And wake up and be able to get on with the mission.”

Thank you Facebook NARIT, National Institute for Astronomical Research.