Japan’s lunar lander responded to a signal from Earth, suggesting it survived the two-week lunar night, the country’s space agency said.
The Unmanned Smart Lander for Lunar Exploration (Smart) landed last month at a wonky angle that caused its solar panels to point the wrong way. But as the sun’s angle shifted, it switched on for two days and carried out scientific observations of a crater with a high-spec camera.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the lander went back to sleep when darkness returned and since it was “not designed for the harsh lunar nights”, it was unclear whether it would wake up again.
“We sent an order yesterday to which Slim responded,” Jaxa said on Monday. “Slim managed to survive a night on the moon’s surface while maintaining his communication function.”
Communications were said to have “ended after a short time as it was still lunar afternoon and the temperature of the communications equipment was very high. Preparations are being made to resume operations when instrument temperatures have cooled sufficiently.”
Slim, nicknamed the Moon Sniper for its precision landing technology, landed within its target landing zone on January 20.
The feat was a victory for Japan’s space program after a string of recent failures, making the country only the fifth to achieve a “soft landing” on the moon, after the US, Soviet Union, China and India.
During its descent, the craft experienced engine problems and landed on its side with the solar panels pointing west instead of up.
Jaxa toasted a successful blast for its H3 rocket on February 17, making it third time lucky after years of delays and two failed attempts.
Russia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are among the other countries trying to reach the moon.
The first US spacecraft to the moon since the Apollo era – the unmanned Odysseus lander built by a private company and funded by Nasa – landed near the moon’s south pole on Thursday.
The manufacturer said the American spacecraft was probably lying sideways after his dramatic landingeven as ground controllers worked to download data and surface photographs from it.
The private Japanese firm ispace tried to land on the moon last year, but the probe had a “hard landing” and contact was lost.
