Smart Lander for Investigating Moon
Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021 was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC, XRISM successfully launched, and SLIM separated from it later that day.
Half scale model of SLIM in landing configuration | |
| Names | SLIM |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Lunar lander and lunar rover |
| Operator | JAXA |
| COSPAR ID | 2023-137D |
| SATCAT no. | 57803 |
| Website | Official website |
| Mission duration | 5 months, 9 days (elapsed) (since launch) 27 days (since landing) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | MELCO |
| Launch mass | 590 kg |
| Dry mass | 120 kg |
| Dimensions | 1.5 × 1.5 × 2 m (4 ft 11 in × 4 ft 11 in × 6 ft 7 in) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 6 September 2023 23:42:11 UTC |
| Rocket | H-IIA 202 |
| Launch site | Tanegashima Space Center |
| Contractor | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Lunar orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 25 December 2023 07:51 UTC |
| Lunar lander | |
| Landing date | 19 January 2024 15:20:00 UTC |
| Landing site | near Shioli crater 13.3160°S 25.2510°E |
On 1 October 2023, SLIM executed its trans-lunar orbit injection burns. The lander successfully 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.