Japan's JAXA lunar lander prepares to land on the moon's surface

Japan's JAXA Lunar Exploration Intelligent Lander (SLIM) is preparing to land on the lunar surface in the next few hours. SLIM aims to demonstrate “landing where you want to land”, precise landing technique and obstacle detection technology.

It's a lunar lander It aims to achieve a lightweight and compact sonar system And take advantage of the precise landing technology needed for future lunar probes. The project aims to reduce the weight of high-function observation equipment and land on planets with scarce resources for future solar system research investigations.

“With the creation of the SLIM lander, We humans will achieve a qualitative change so that we can land wherever we want And not just where it's easy to land, as was the case before. “By achieving this, it will be possible to land on planets with even scarcer resources than the Moon.”

Nowadays, knowledge of target astronomical objects has increased and the details that need to be studied have become more specific, so it has become necessary to perform high-precision landings near the study target.

In addition, the probe will need to be equipped with higher-function monitoring instruments for future solar system research investigations. Sonar systems are being lightened in preparation for this moment, and the reduced weight of the sensors will be essential to be able to distribute resources to monitoring devices. SLIM was launched toward the Moon on September 7.