{"id":777818,"date":"2024-02-26T03:19:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T08:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777818"},"modified":"2024-02-26T03:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T08:19:55","slug":"surprise-japans-slim-moon-lander-wakes-up-after-a-cold-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777818","title":{"rendered":"Surprise! Japan’s SLIM Moon Lander Wakes Up After a Cold Night"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Japan\u2019s space agency didn\u2019t expect its wrong-side-up SLIM moon lander to revive itself after powering down for a circuit-chilling lunar night on Feb. 1. But that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast night, a command was sent to SLIM and a response received, confirming that the spacecraft has made it through the lunar night and maintained communication capabilities!\u201d the SLIM mission team reported today in a posting to X \/ Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Japan’s SLIM Moon lander is, amazingly, alive into its second lunar day! Temperatures are currently too high for anything other than brief communication, but JAXA is preparing to conduct further science observations with SLIM in the near future. https:\/\/t.co\/7L8y4VAm7Z<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) February 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This wasn\u2019t SLIM\u2019s first resurrection: The boxy spacecraft touched down and tumbled onto its side on Jan. 19-20, settling in a position where its solar arrays couldn\u2019t charge up its batteries. To conserve power, mission managers put the probe into hibernation and waited for the sun\u2019s rays to hit the panels at a more favorable angle.<\/p>\n

The team was able to revive the lander and get a few days\u2019 worth of science data before putting it back into hibernation. Mission managers thought that might have been the end. During the 14-day lunar night, surface temperatures were expected to fall to about 200 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-130 degrees Celsius) \u2014 a deep-freeze that was colder than what SLIM was designed to endure.<\/p>\n

The lunar night ended days ago. After giving SLIM\u2019s solar panels a chance to charge up the batteries again, the team at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency decided to check in \u2014 and got the good news. The circuitry is warm again. Actually, it\u2019s hot: SLIM\u2019s team members said that when the lander resumed contact, some of its equipment was hotter than 212 degrees Fahrenheit<\/a> (100 degrees Celsius). That\u2019s too hot for their liking.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunication with SLIM was terminated after a short time, as it was still lunar midday and the temperature of the communication equipment was very high,\u201d the mission team reported<\/a>. \u201cPreparations are being made to resume operations when instrument temperatures have sufficiently cooled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on that information, it sounds as if SLIM would be able to get in only a few days of work before the team has to put it to sleep again for the next lunar night. But that\u2019s way better than nothing. During SLIM\u2019s previous opportunity to do some science, it made multispectral observations of its surroundings near Shioli Crater \u2014 including an assortment of rocks that were nicknamed after canine breeds. <\/p>\n

SLIM\u2019s remarkable revival may also boost the hopes of the team behind Intuitive Machines\u2019 Odysseus lander, which touched down near the moon\u2019s south pole last week and is expected to be in operation until lunar sunset about a week from now. Like SLIM, Odysseus made an off-kilter landing. Like SLIM, Odysseus was equipped with electronics that weren\u2019t designed to survive the lunar night. And like SLIM, Odysseus will nevertheless get a wakeup call after the coming night has ended \u2014 just in case its circuits are more resilient than its designers thought.<\/p>\n

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