Japan’s Moon Mission – SLIM

About SLIM

• SLIM was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in September 2023 aboard the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima spaceport.
• It aims to demonstrate precision landing within 100 metres through new technologies.
• It also carried two mini robotic rovers developed by Sony and Tomy for reconnaissance.
• The mission aims to revitalise Japan’s space program which suffered setbacks like the failure of the flagship H3 rocket in March 2023.

Objectives

• The mission aims to observe X-rays coming from deep space and to identify their wavelengths with unprecedented precision.
• It will use state-of-the-art spectroscopy to measure changes in the brightness of celestial objects at different wavelengths.
• It detects X-rays with energies ranging from 400 to 12,000 electron volts. (For comparison, the energy of visible light is 2 to 3 electron volts.)
• This range will provide astrophysicists with new information about some of the universe’s hottest regions, largest structures, and objects with the strongest gravity.

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Future Moon Missions

• ISRO (India): LUPEX with JAXA, Chandrayaan-4
• NASA (USA): Lunar Trailblazer Mission, Viper Rover, Artemis 2-6 (Manned mission).
• ROSCOSMOS (Russia): LUNA 26-28, ORYOL
• CNSA (China): Chang’e 6-8
• JAXA (Japan): Destiny+

Q1) What is Robotics?

It is a branch of engineering and computer science that involves the conception, design, manufacture and operation of robots. The objective of the robotics field is to create intelligent machines that can assist humans in a variety of ways. Robotics can take on a number of forms.

Source: Japan becomes 5th country to land on the Moon