일본 달 착륙, 우주의 미지에 던진 도전과 기적

Japan's moon landing photo may be the space photo of the decade

Landing on the lunar surface is really difficult. Photos of Japan's robotic lunar module show the spacecraft taking off and landing upside down on the lunar surface on its 250,000-mile journey.On January 25, five days after descending on the moon, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) released the image. The SLIM (Smart Lander for the Moon) mission team realized shortly after landing that the solar panels were not producing electricity.

 

The fact that the golden spacecraft somehow remains in such a crude condition in this dangerous situation makes us think about how difficult it is to land on the lunar surface even after 60 years.Although dropping face down on the Moon was not planned, the JAXA team confirmed that data confirmed the spacecraft achieved a so-called "pinpoint landing" — that is, landing with an accuracy of less than 100 meters, or less than 100 yards. Given that most landing targets are several square miles in size, this demonstrates unprecedented precision. According to space agency officials, the lander was within a range of up to 10 meters, which is equivalent to less than 11 yards.

 

“Pinpoint landing performance has been estimated at approximately 10 meters or less, with perhaps 3 to 4 meters,” JAXA said in a release.Japan is the fifth country to land on the moon, following the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India. But soon after landing, JAXA controllers realized the spacecraft was in danger of rapidly losing power.The SLIM spacecraft's navigation camera takes pictures of the terrain. JAXA flipped the image so it looked the right way. Credit: JAXAThe reversed position that has now occurred means the solar panels are not facing in the right direction to generate power, the space agency explained. The team decided to conserve power by shutting down the spacecraft about 2.5 hours after landing.

unique photo shoot

What's even more surprising is how this photo was taken. This photo was taken by one of two small rovers that separated from the unmanned spacecraft just before landing. One of these was at a height of about 55 yards, where the spacecraft performed obstacle avoidance maneuvers during a pinpoint landing demonstration. Just before this maneuver, one of the two main engines stopped working, causing the lander to veer. JAXA is investigating the cause of the engine problem.

 

Landing on the moon remains difficult, and less than half of attempts are successful. The moon's outer orbit has an extremely thin atmosphere of gas maintained by near-gravity, creating virtually no drag on spacecraft as they approach the ground. Additionally, there is no GPS system on the Moon to guide spacecraft to the landing site.

 

For the pinpoint landing, the SLIM spacecraft was equipped with photo-matching technology to determine its position. In just a few seconds, the matching algorithm determines the spacecraft's position and orientation and determines whether any corrections should be made.Landing on the lunar surface is really difficult. Photos of Japan's robotic lunar module show the spacecraft taking off and landing upside down on the lunar surface on its 250,000-mile journey.

 

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) released the image, five days after SLIM (Smart Lander for Lunar Exploration) went down to the moon. After landing on the moon, the SLIM mission team realized that the spacecraft's solar panels were not generating electricity.

 

The fact that the golden spacecraft somehow remains in such a crude condition in this dangerous situation makes us think about how difficult it is to land on the lunar surface even after 60 years.Although a pinpoint landing was not planned, the JAXA team confirmed that data confirmed the spacecraft achieved a so-called "pinpoint landing" — that is, landing with an accuracy of less than 100 meters or less than 100 yards. Given that most landing targets are several square miles in size, this demonstrates unprecedented precision. According to space agency officials, the lander was within a range of up to 10 meters, which is equivalent to less than 11 yards.

 

“Pinpoint landing performance has been estimated at approximately 10 meters or less, with perhaps 3 to 4 meters,” JAXA said in a release.Japan is the fifth country to land on the moon, following the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India. But soon after landing, JAXA controllers realized the spacecraft was in danger of rapidly losing power.The reversed position that has now occurred means the solar panels are not facing in the right direction to generate power, the space agency explained. The team decided to conserve power by shutting down the spacecraft about 2.5 hours after landing.