On September 7, 2023, the scientists behind the lunar mission ‘Moon Sniper’ successfully launched an aircraft into orbit from the Tanegashima space station in Japan with the help of a Japanese H-IIA rocket. This mission was a significant accomplishment, marking Japan’s first attempt to land a craft on the moon’s surface.
After covering an extensive distance, the Moon Sniper plane successfully landed on the moon’s surface on September 19, 2023. This feat made Japan the fifth country in history to achieve a successful moon landing, following the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and India.
The successful landing of Moon Sniper aircraft is a significant milestone for Japan’s space exploration program. The mission’s success will undoubtedly inspire future generations of scientists and engineers to continue pursuing space exploration, unlocking discoveries and possibilities for the world.
The speciality of the ‘Moon Sniper’ operation
The SLIM, or Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, is a lander launched by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as part of the Moon Sniper mission. The mission’s main objective is to explore the lunar surface and its geology, particularly in areas that have yet to be previously explored. One of the unique features of this mission is the lander’s ability to precisely target specific areas as narrow as 100 square meters, which is a significant improvement compared to previous missions where the lander had to target a plot of several square kilometres.
The name “Moon Sniper” was given to the mission by Japanese scientists, and it reflects the unique characteristics of the lander. The lander is equipped with advanced technology that allows it to land safely on the lunar surface and collect data on the area’s geology. It has a range of scientific instruments, including a panoramic camera, a thermal infrared camera, and a mass spectrometer, which enable it to collect detailed information about the composition and structure of the lunar surface.
The Moon Sniper mission is a significant step forward in understanding the moon and its geology. The data collected by the lander will help scientists better understand the origin and evolution of the moon and shed light on the early history of the solar system. The mission is a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of the Japanese scientists and their commitment to advancing our knowledge of the universe.
SLIM, a robot designed to explore the moon, will be heading towards a small crater called Shioli. The Japanese astronauts landed the plane in a nearby area called the ‘Sea of Nectar’, located south of the ‘Silent Sea’, where the first moonwalk occurred in 1969. The Japan Space Agency scientists launched this mission to uncover the secrets of the moon, and they believe that SLIM will be able to discover many things. The ‘Moon Sniper Smart Lander’ is a unique lander that could land on the moon using a new method, making it an amazing and significant accomplishment. The operation has been named ‘Moon Sniper’ due to the uniqueness of its landing.
A unique responsibility for the telescope directed with the lander
The H-2A rocket recently launched two space missions – the Moon Sniper Smart Lander and a space satellite equipped with the latest technology acting as a telescope. Developed by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with NASA, the telescope’s main objective is to explore the universe’s secrets with a ‘new eye’. It will orbit the Earth and study unusual temperatures and gravity in the universe, gathering vital information. The European and Canadian Space Agencies also supported this mission.
Previously, Japanese private company Ispace’s lunar lander, Hakuto-R, failed to land on the Moon in April 2023. However, on August 23 last year, India succeeded in achieving what Japan couldn’t with the successful Chandrayaan 3 mission by the Indian Space Research Organization.
