The latest in Ph-word: January ’24

Japan became the fifth country to land successfully on the Moon, although it was a “minimum success” (their words, not mine).

The spacecraft called SLIM —both for Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon and for being an investigation in using small and light spacecraft for this purpose— reached lunar soil and deployed two mini rovers. One of them took, and the other one transmitted, a photo that shows SLIM landed on its head, unfortunately blocking its solar panels from getting any light.

That photo though. That photo is pure aesthetic bliss. Excuse me for saying that 21st c. Moon exploration was waiting for Japan to give it its vibe.

[JAXA/Takara Tomy/Sony Group Corporation/Doshisha University]


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