Posted 2/2/2024, 5:22:31 PM
JAXA's SLIM Moon Lander Survives Harsh Lunar Night After Brief Awakening
- SLIM moon lander landed successfully on Jan 19 but in poor orientation, limiting sunlight to panels
- After 10 days, enough sunlight reached panels to reawaken lander briefly
- In recent days, lander's camera scanned lunar surface to analyze composition and minerals
- Lander has now entered 2-week dormancy period to wait out extreme -130°C lunar nighttime
- If electronics survive, JAXA hopes to revive lander again in mid-Feb when sunlight returns