In the silence of space, without the possibility of hearing a camera click, Japan’s moon lander likely took its last photo. Known as the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), the lander made its descent onto the moon’s surface but landed almost upside down. The story behind the taking of the upended lander’s photo is quite fascinating. Following this, the lander was deactivated until the battery could be recharged by sunlight. This occurred after a series of setbacks, including power generation issues and a main engine failure, which led to the solar panels not being properly oriented.
JAXASubsequently, power was restored, and images started being received. Despite this success, the beginning of lunar night now casts a shadow over these recent achievements. Lasting for two weeks, lunar night brings temperatures as low as -200 degrees, as reported by Engadget. As night fell, the SLIM lander went dormant, but it was not designed to endure such conditions and may not awaken once more.
The last image from the SLIM lander, before it entered dormancy, is all that remains for observers. “Last night (1/31 ~ 2/1) we sent a command to switch on #SLIM’s communicator again just in case, but with no response, we confirmed SLIM had entered a dormant state. This is the last scene of the Moon taken by SLIM before dusk. #GoodAfterMoon #JAXA pic.twitter.com/V1iAUoxJFK — 小型月着陸実証機SLIM (@SLIM_JAXA) February 1, 2024” “The world on the moon alternates between 14 days of day and 14 days of night. On this day, just before sunset, I took another photo of the surrounding scenery,” reads the translated statement from the Japanese space agency JAXA’s SLIM lander website. “Compared to immediately after the landing, the dark area that is not exposed to sunlight has expanded. As the sun sets, SLIM goes into dormancy as it no longer has the power it needs to operate. the power system has been operating normally up to this point, including observation operations after landing.” If it doesn’t manage to reactivate after dormancy, this might mark the end of any further imagery from the SLIM lander. The contrast between the eerie darkness of this final photo and the one taken shortly after landing is undeniably unsettling. Image credits: JAXA
