After Chandrayaan, Japan will land a small lander on the moon

India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has been completed. In this mission, Vikramlander along with the Pragyan rover successfully soft-landed on the South Pole of the Moon and set a new record for India. After this, both successfully completed all the experiments on the lunar surface and sent many important data to the scientists on Earth. Now Japan is also going to add its name to this list. Next September 7 he is going to launch a mission to the moon, through which he is going to land a small rover on the lunar surface. Its special feature is that it will be a special type of pinpoint landing on a gradient surface.

Who will launch it?
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced that it is going to launch a lander to the Moon via an H-IIA rocket. The announcement comes at a time when its launch was postponed last month due to adverse wind conditions. The H-IIA rocket, jointly developed by JAXA and MHI, has served as Japan’s space launch vehicle since 2001.

When will it be launched?
It may be noted that such a launch was also attempted in May which failed. The launch is scheduled for 5.12 am IST on September 7 from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center located in southern Japan. While its launch window is available till September 15.

There will be great success
About the HIIA rocket it is said that 45 of its 46 launches were completely successful. But the 47th launch of HIIA was postponed for several months. But the next launch will be Japan’s first landing on the moon, after which Japan will become the fifth country in the world to have a successful soft landing on the moon.

JAXA will complete the mission with the help of a private company from its own country. (Representative photo: Wikimedia Commons)

What is the purpose?
Slim means the Smart Lander for the Investing Moon will be a very small vehicle weighing only 200 grams. While the weight of India’s Chandrayaan-3 was 1750 kg. SLIM’s main goal is to make a precision landing on the Moon in which it will land within 100 meters of a chosen location.
The purpose of this mission is to demonstrate that it can be landed anywhere on the moon.

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Accuracy is required
Jaxa says it will use pinpoint landing technology for this. This will ensure that the landing can be done closest to the selected site. JAXA says that today’s technological know-how makes precise astronomical targets possible and greater precision has become necessary.

Jaxa will use pin point landing technology in this campaign. (Image credit: Pixabay)

Landing on a sloped surface
JAXA says that by achieving pinpoint landings, it will be possible to land on planets that have fewer resources than the Moon. The chosen landing site for Slim is near a small crater called Shiholi in the equatorial region of the Moon. Due to the proximity of the pit, the surface of the landing area will be on a 15 degree slope. In such a situation, landing on a sloped surface becomes more important.

Also read: What solar processes will ISRO’s Aditya L1 study?

The success of this mission will also prove to be a milestone for Japan’s space industry. JAXA may receive 10 billion yen in subsidies from the local government for fiscal year 2024. The funds will be used by companies and universities to develop satellite rockets and lunar exploration technologies. Following the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3, this mission will also help boost lunar exploration programmes.

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Tags: Chandrayaan-3, Japan, the moon, Research, Science, space, the world