Japan has become the fifth country to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon.
Japan's step on the moon and a toy car! Written by: Shakir Ullah
History of soft landing on the Moon:
After America, Russia, China, and India, Japan has now become the fifth country in the world to successfully land its mission on the moon.
Launch of Moon Sniper :
today Japan's space agency JAXA's moon lander slim to be sent to the moon on September 6, 2023, has successfully landed on the surface of the moon for analysis.
LOSS Contact with Japan's Moon Sniper :
but after landing, its contact remained disconnected from the control station on the ground for a long time. Due to this, it could not be confirmed whether the lander had successfully landed on the surface of the moon or not.
It is not unusual for this to happen during space missions.
Reasons for loss of contact with Japan mission Moon Sniper:
There can be many reasons for this, the most important of which is the antenna in the mission not being in the right direction, not being able to communicate with NASA's deep space network, the communication system in the mission being disrupted, etc. are some of the factors. Due to this, it is not far-fetched to not contact him immediately after the landing of the mission.
According to JAXA:
the Slim Lander has successfully landed on the moon's surface and has now re-established contact with it.
Power problem for Japan MIssion Sniper Lander:
The Solar panels on the Lander, which are supposed to power the lander for the mission, are currently not at an angle that the sunlight could fall on them. Currently, it is active due to the batteries in the lander, but it may take time for the sun to change its angle to the moon on the lander and it is not yet known whether the simulation will be able to remain active with such a delay and negative temperatures. This is being reviewed.
Rovers with Lander Sniper:
The lander has two rovers equipped with cameras and advanced scientific instruments. One is LEV-1 and the other is LEV-2. Both of these autonomous vehicles are capable of moving on the Moon.
Purpose of the Japan's Sniper Lander:
their purpose includes a detailed survey of the lunar surface, determining the amount of various chemical elements on its surface, including water, oxygen, etc. Rocket fuel and other means can be used to travel from the Moon to other planets in space.
Connection Restored with Japan's Sniper Lander :
In this regard, the lander has landed both rovers on the surface of the moon. JAXA has restored contact with the first rover, but contact with the second rover, LEV-2, has not yet been made.
Robotic Rover with Japan's Sniper Lander:
The special thing is that LEV-2 is very small and it is the size of the palm. Its weight is only 250 grams and it can change its shape and run on the moon for at least two hours.
Cameras on Japan's Sniper Rover :
This small rover is equipped with two cameras and is being developed by a group of Japanese multinational companies Sony and a local university. This group of Sony company manufactures children's toys in Japan.
The purpose of this rover was not only to test small-scale technology on the moon but also to instill an interest in space exploration among children. It is possible that in the future children will play with such toys and grow up to play a prominent role in space exploration.
Objectives Of the Japan's Sniper Mission :
A primary objective of this mission was to test the capability of landing at an exit location on the lunar surface. In this regard, Sillam was able to land just 100 meters away from its intended location, which is quite an achievement as all previous landing missions have landed several kilometers away from their intended landing location.
Landing on the Moon of Japan's Sniper Rover :
The lander landed in a small crater on the moon called Shivali Crater. This area was formed by volcanic activity and lava flows on the Moon in the past. The crater is located south of the "Sea of Tranquility," another distinctive area of the moon where the first human mission, Apollo 11, landed in 1969.
After the partial success of this mission, it can be hoped that in the future, humans will be able to send small, low-cost missions to the Moon and other planets to increase human knowledge about the planets and moons of the solar system as quickly as possible.
Remember, the more information we have about these planets, the more we will be able to design better missions and establish human settlements by sending human missions to them in the future.
Be happy, keep learning science.