Japan’s moon lander wasn’t built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It’s still going after 3

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a 3rd freezing lunar night time, Japan’s area company stated Wednesday after receiving a picture from the gadget three months after it landed on the moon.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Company stated the lunar probe responded to a sign from the earth Tuesday night time, confirming it has survived one other weekslong lunar night time.

Temperatures can fall to minus 170 levels Celsius (minus 274 levels Fahrenheit) throughout a lunar night time, and rise to round 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit) throughout a lunar day.

The probe, Sensible Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM, reached the lunar floor on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth nation to efficiently place a probe on the moon. SLIM on Jan. 20 landed the unsuitable means up with its photo voltaic panels initially unable to see the solar, and needed to be turned off inside hours, however powered on when the solar rose eight days later.

SLIM, which was tasked with testing Japan’s pinpoint touchdown know-how and gathering geological information and pictures, was not designed to outlive lunar nights.

JAXA stated on the social media platform X that SLIM’s key capabilities are nonetheless working regardless of repeated harsh cycles of temperature modifications. The company stated it plans to intently monitor the lander’s deterioration.

Scientists are hoping to seek out clues in regards to the origin of the moon by the evaluating mineral compositions of moon rocks and people of Earth.

The message from SLIM got here days after NASA restored contact with Voyager 1, the farthest area probe from earth, which had been sending garbled information again to earth for months.

An U.S. lunar probe developed by a personal area firm introduced termination of its operation a month after its February touchdown, whereas an Indian moon lander failed to ascertain communication after landing in 2023.