Author: Cüneyt Aksoy
On September 6, 2023, Japan successfully launched its H-IIA rocket carrying the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Moon lander. This successful launch came after previous three attempts in 2023, which were cancelled due to unfavourable weather conditions.[1] The H-IIA, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, JAXA’s most reliable rocket with just one failure out of 42 launches since 2001, has lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.[2]
The H-IIA was carrying two separate missions to space. The first one, the JAXA’s first lunar lander, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), aims to use advanced image-based navigation technology and lightweight hardware to achieve high-precision landing by a small lander. The second mission, X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) aims to use a satellite equipped with next-generation X-ray imaging spectroscopy technologies to study plasma in stars and galaxy clusters.[3]
As a smaller craft, the SLIM project lander, dubbed ‘Moon Sniper’, weighs less than half of conventional landers and is expected to land within 100 meters of the target point.[4] JAXA’s goal with SLIM is to make significant contributions to the future of space exploration with precision landing capabilities.[5]
SLIM is set to land in early 2024. If successful, it will make Japan the 5th country to soft-land on the moon after the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.[6]
[1] Derek Cai, ‘Japan Joins Moon Race with Successful Rocket Launch’, BBC News, 7 September 2023, sec. Asia, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66737048.
[2] Nicholas Takahashi, ‘Japanese Rocket Takes Off for Moon After Troublesome Year’, Bloomberg.Com, 7 September 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-07/japanese-rocket-takes-off-for-the-moon-after-troublesome-year.
[3] Gabriel Dominguez, ‘In New Space Race, Japan Ups Ante with Launch of Two Key Missions’, The Japan Times, 7 September 2023, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/09/07/japan/science-health/japan-space-launch-moon/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] ‘Successful Launch of the H-IIA Rocket No. 47: Aiming at Japan’s First Ever Moon Landing’, ScienceJapan, accessed 18 November 2023, https://sj.jst.go.jp/news/202310/n1025-01k.html.
[6] Andrew Jones, ‘Japan’s SLIM Moon Lander Completes 1st Critical Phase in Earth Orbit’, Space.com, 20 September 2023, https://www.space.com/japan-slim-moon-lander-completes-first-phase-earth-orbit.