NASA Moon Orbiter Spots Japan's Lander on the Lunar Surface As It Awaits Revival

NASA's Moon orbiter has photographed Japan's lander lying on lunar surface. Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down near Shioli Crater on near side of Moon on January 19 but it faced issues with electricity generation soon after landing.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has now photographed lander as it passed over SLIM on January 24.

image was taken from an altitude of 80 km and it shows SLIM as a small bright dot in middle. bright streaks on left side of image are rocky material ejected from Shioli crater, NASA said.

JAXA has said that objective of making a precision landing on Moon has been accomplished. objective was to touch down within a 100 meter area near Shioli crater. Pictures released of lander by JAXA, however, prove landing is not flawless as SLIM is lying nosedown on Moon.

image above was taken by one of two tiny Lunar Exploration Vehicles (LEV) which were released when SLIM was a few meters above lunar surface. 

Anor objective of SLIM is to carry out science experiments which will only be possible with electricity. JAXA said that solar cells of lander are not receiving sunlight thus no electricity and no experiments. 

JAXA officials said that re is hope for SLIM's revival but only when solar angle changes and cells receive some sunlight. Similar to ISRO's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover of Chandrayaan-3, SLIM is also designed to last one lunar day or 14 Earth days.