{"id":777265,"date":"2024-02-15T05:52:59","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777265"},"modified":"2024-02-15T05:52:59","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:52:59","slug":"japans-space-agency-says-it-may-now-have-clues-about-the-origins-of-the-moon-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777265","title":{"rendered":"Japan’s space agency says it may now have clues about the origins of the moon : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n This image provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\/Takara Tomy\/Sony Group Corporation\/Doshisha University shows an image taken by a Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) of a robotic moon rover called Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, on the moon.
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This image provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\/Takara Tomy\/Sony Group Corporation\/Doshisha University shows an image taken by a Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) of a robotic moon rover called Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, on the moon.<\/p>\n

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TOKYO \u2014 An unmanned lunar spacecraft has captured and transmitted data analyzing 10 lunar rocks, a greater-than-expected achievement that could help provide clues about the origin of the moon, a Japan space agency official said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

For four days, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM \u2014 which landed on the moon last month \u2014 has used its multi-band spectral camera to study rock composition, and worked on examining lunar rocks, said Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project manager Shinichiro Sakai.<\/p>\n

The lunar mission is Japan’s first. The spacecraft made a historic precision touchdown on Jan. 20, though it landed the wrong way up, with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun and was turned off after a brief communication with Earth. But on the eighth day, it started working, allowing it to successfully reestablish communication with the command center at JAXA on Earth.<\/p>\n