Topline
Japan successfully landed its precise “Moon Sniper” rover on the Moon, though the lander is failing to generate electricity, Japan’s space agency said Friday—an historic achievement for Japan as it joins a select group of just four other countries, as nations and private companies race to stake a claim in the emerging space economy.
Key Facts
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said it landed its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon on the lunar surface, later confirming the mission as a “minimum success” after the agency received a signal from the rover.
The lander is operating on limited battery power that is only expected to last a few hours before going dark, according to the agency, which said the lander’s solar cell was not generating energy.
JAXA is investigating what is caused the solar cell issue, agency officials said at the press conference, suggesting the spacecraft was likely not pointing in the intended direction.
The lander began its descent at 10 a.m. Eastern time and touched down around 20 minutes later, shortly after midnight in Japan—the country’s space agency live-streamed the operation on YouTube.
The probe is nicknamed the “moon sniper” on account of the precision navigation technology it uses: JAXA hoped to land the rover on the lunar surface within 100 meters of a set target, a significant improvement on the precision of previous lunar landings, which had landing zones stretching kilometers.
JAXA officials have said mission success would mean a new era of space travel and a change from “landing where we can” to “landing where we want.”
Success also sees Japan join an elite club of just four countries—the U.S., Soviet Union, China and India—to have safely landed on the Moon.
Further Viewing
News Peg
Japan’s attempt at a lunar landing comes a day after the fiery demise of Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lander. The Pittsburgh-based company was hoping to become the first private firm to safely land on the Moon, but the craft suffered a “critical” fuel leak shortly after launching atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Its failure comes after Japan’s ISpace smashed a lander into the lunar surface last year and Israel’s SpaceIL failed to land on the Moon’s Sea of Serenity in 2019.
What To Watch For
Several other companies, as well as Astrobotic again, are potentially poised to become the first private firm to land safely on the Moon in other launches later this year. The missions are part of a public-private initiative NASA hopes will develop the space economy and lower the costs of missions. The agency has selected 14 American companies—including Astrobotic, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Lockheed Martin Space—as potential bidders for contracts worth up to $2.6 billion through 2028. NASA also encourages vendors to take commercial payloads alongside its contracted material.
Key Background
Multiple factors like navigational issues, gravity, dust and the lack of an atmosphere make safe lunar landings difficult things to achieve. For a long time, the feat was the exclusive purview of just two countries—the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.—who in the last decade were joined by China (2013) and India (2023). Even having done it before is no guarantee of success and the lunar surface is littered with the remnants of failed missions, including a Russian attempt last year.
Further Reading
Here’s Which Private Moon Missions Are Next After Peregrine Lander’s Fiery Failure (Forbes)
