Japan’s spacecraft transmits data of 10 lunar rocks

Tokyo, February 14

An unmanned lunar spacecraft has captured and transmitted data analyzing 10 lunar rocks, a greater-than-expected achievement that could help provide clues about the origin of the moon, a Japan space agency official said Wednesday. For four days, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM — which landed on the moon last month — has used its multi-band spectral camera to study rock composition, and worked on examining lunar rocks, said Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project manager Shinichiro Sakai.

The lunar mission is Japan’s first. The spacecraft made a historic precision touchdown on January 20, though it landed the wrong way up, with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun and was turned off after a brief communication with Earth. But on the eighth day, it started working, allowing it to successfully reestablish communication with the command center at JAXA on Earth.

The landing made Japan the world’s fifth country to reach the moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India. — AP