![]() That allows the box-shaped gadgetry to find a safer place to land. While landings now tend to be off by about 10 kilometers (6 miles) or more, the Smart Lander is designed to be more precise, within about 100 meters (330 feet) of the intended target, JAXA official Shinichiro Sakai told reporters ahead of the launch. JAXA is developing “pinpoint landing technology” to prepare for future lunar probes and landing on other planets. JAXA workers applauded and bowed with each other from their observation facility. The lander successfully separated from the rocket about 45 minutes after the launch and proceeded on its proper track to eventually land on the moon. The Smart Lander won’t make lunar orbit for three or four months after the launch and would likely attempt a landing early next year, according to the space agency. Article contentĪlso aboard the latest Japanese rocket is the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, a lightweight lunar lander. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. “Understanding the distribution of this hot plasma in space and time, as well as its dynamical motion, will shed light on diverse phenomena such as black holes, the evolution of chemical elements in the universe and the formation of galactic clusters,” Alexander said. Plasmas have the potential to be used in various ways, including healing wounds, making computer chips and cleaning the environment. In cooperation with NASA, JAXA will look at the strength of light at different wavelengths, the temperature of things in space and their shapes and brightness.ĭavid Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute at Rice University, believes the mission is significant for delivering insight into the properties of hot plasma, or the superheated matter that makes up much of the universe. That information helps in studying how celestial objects were formed, and hopefully can lead to solving the mystery of how the universe was created, JAXA says. Thirteen minutes after the launch, the rocket put into orbit around Earth a satellite called the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, which will measure the speed and makeup of what lies between galaxies. Activate your Online Access Now Article content ![]() If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is included in your subscription. ![]()
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