Smart Lander for Investigating Moon

"SLIM (spacecraft)" redirects here. For other uses, see Slim (disambiguation).

Smart Lander for Investigating Moon
Half-scale model of SLIM in landing configuration
NamesSLIM
Moon Sniper
Mission typeLunar lander/rover
OperatorJAXA
COSPAR ID2023-137D Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.57803
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Mission durationTotal:
7 months, 23 days
Surface operations:
3 months, 10 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerMitsubishi Electric
Launch mass590 kg (1,300 lb)[1]
Dry mass120 kg (260 lb)[2]
Dimensions1.5 × 1.5 × 2 m (4.9 × 4.9 × 6.6 ft)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date6 September 2023 (2023-09-06) 23:42:11 UTC[3]
RocketH-IIA 202
Launch siteTanegashima, LA-Y1
ContractorMitsubishi Heavy Industries
End of mission
Declared23 August 2024, 13:40[4][5]
Last contact29 April 2024 (2024-04-30)[6]
Lunar orbiter
Orbital insertion25 December 2023 (2023-12-25) 07:51 UTC[7]
Lunar lander
Landing date19 January 2024 (2024-01-19) 15:20:00 UTC[7]
Landing sitenear Shioli crater
13°18′58″S 25°15′04″E / 13.3160°S 25.2510°E / -13.3160; 25.2510[8]

Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed "Moon Sniper", was a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021[2][9] was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM).[10] On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC,[a][3] XRISM launched, and SLIM separated from it later that day.

On 1 October 2023, SLIM executed its trans-lunar orbit injection burns. The lander entered lunar orbit on 25 December 2023 and landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the fifth country to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. News reports of technical difficulties made it to Earth, saying that the lander's solar panels were not oriented to the Sun; however, on 29 January, the lander became operational after conditions shifted. It has survived three lunar nights, awakening again in April.[11][12]

SLIM's operation on the Moon was terminated at 22:40 on August 23, 2024 (JST).[4][5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference JAXA20160714 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference jaxa63 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nsf-20230906 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference slim23-j was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference slim23-e was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference slim20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference date was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference nasa1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference japanrealtime was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference launchdate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference space.com2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference space.com1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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