Posted 2/2/2024, 7:30:00 PM
Japan's Lunar Lander Goes Silent After Sending Back Final Images of Moon's Surface
- SLIM, Japan's lunar lander, has likely entered permanent sleep after sending final images back to Earth
- The lander first ran into issues during descent when its engines malfunctioned, causing it to crash land upside down
- SLIM managed to reboot and send back images and data 10 days after landing before running out of power again
- The images show the lunar landscape darkening as SLIM entered the harsh -208 F lunar night
- Although not designed to withstand the night, JAXA will try to operate SLIM again in mid-Feb when sunlight returns