\n<\/p>\n
The SLIM lander is continuing to snap photos of the moon\u2019s surface<\/p>\n
JAXA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
Somehow, Japan\u2019s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has survived three lunar nights, an astonishing feat. Moon landers typically survive for one lunar day \u2013 about two Earth weeks \u2013 because night on the moon is so cold that it ruins spacecraft batteries and electronics.<\/p>\n
Very few moon landers are built to survive nighttime temperatures on the moon, which can dip as low as -133\u00b0C (-208\u00b0F). SLIM is no exception to this \u2013 it has no heaters or special insulation designed to keep the spacecraft\u2019s electronics warm.<\/p>\n
The original plan was that lunar night would mark the end of the lander\u2019s mission, so when night fell less than two weeks after SLIM\u2019s 19 January landing, nobody expected it to wake up again. But on 25 February, the sun rose over SLIM\u2019s resting place near the south pole of the moon, and it turned back on.<\/p>\n
Surprised, SLIM\u2019s operating crew on Earth got to work instructing the lander to take images and measurements of its surroundings until the next lunar night, when surely the mission would truly be over. In late March, the sun rose once again, and once again the lander turned on and began transmitting data back to Earth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n By all metrics, that made the mission a shocking success, even after a difficult landing that left the spacecraft sitting on a slant. It still had another surprise waiting, though \u2013 on 23 April, after a third lunar night, SLIM was resuscitated once again.<\/p>\n