After Indias Chandrayaan-3, Japan Gears Up To Launch Lander, X-Ray Mission For Moon Tomorrow


New Delhi: After Chandrayaan-3’s success, Japan’s space agency is set to launch a lander and a X-ray mission on the lunar surface on Monday. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) aims to achieve a lightweight probe system on a small scale and use the pinpoint landing technology necessary for future lunar probes. 

If successful, Japan will become just the fifth country to successfully soft-land on the moon, after Russia, US, China and India.   The mission will also place the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) in a satellite that will help scientists observe plasma in stars and galaxies. 

The mission, originally scheduled to take off on Saturday, was postponed to Monday due to bad weather. It will now launch to the Moon on JAXA’s H2-A rocket from Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center. 

“The launch of the H-IIA Rocket No. 47 carrying the X-ray Spectroscopy and Imaging Satellite (XRISM) and the Small Lunar Lander Demonstration Vehicle (SLIM) was postponed to August 27, but the weather is expected to worsen,” JAXA said in a statement. 

“We will reassess whether the launch on August 28 will be possible or not, depending on the weather conditions from tomorrow onwards,” it added. 

SLIM, also known as “Moon Sniper” in Japanese, is expected to arrive in lunar orbit 3 to 4 months after launch. If successful, the spacecraft will land on the slope of Shioli Crater, a relatively fresh, 300-metre-wide impact feature within Mare Nectaris, at 13 degrees south latitude and 25 degrees east longitude on the near side of the moon. 

The SLIM lander aims to achieve a small scale, lightweight probe system and pinpoint landing technology, in addition to contributing to future lunar probes. 

XRISM, a collaboration between NASA and JAXA and with cooperation from the European Space Agency (ESA), will observe X-rays released by extreme phenomena such as hot gas clouds enveloping galaxies and blasts from black holes. 

“X-ray astronomy enables us to study the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. It holds the key to answering important questions in modern astrophysics: how the largest structures in the Universe evolve, how the matter we are ultimately composed of was distributed through the cosmos, and how galaxies are shaped by massive black holes at their centres,” said Matteo Guainazzi, ESA project scientist for XRISM, in a statement.

 

News India24

Share
Published by
News India24

Recent Posts

मोहम्मद शमी को लेकर बीसीसीआई ने दिया सबसे बड़ा अपडेट, अब शंका रहेगी ये ट्रॉफी – इंडिया टीवी हिंदी

छवि स्रोत: गेट्टी मोहम्मद शमी को लेकर बीसीसीआई ने दिया सबसे बड़ा अपडेट मोहम्मद शमी…

52 minutes ago

पांच आईपीओ आज बंद: जानें सदस्यता स्थिति, जीएमपी टुडे – न्यूज18

आखरी अपडेट:23 दिसंबर, 2024, 18:08 ISTआईपीओ में ममता मशीनरी, डीएएम कैपिटल एडवाइजर्स, ट्रांसरेल लाइटिंग, सनाथन…

53 minutes ago

वर्ष 2024: मोदी सरकार की 10 बड़ी घोषणाओं पर एक नजर

छवि स्रोत: इंडिया टीवी 2024 में केंद्र सरकार की 10 बड़ी घोषणाओं पर एक नजर.…

1 hour ago

बीसीसीआई ने बॉर्डर-गावस्कर ट्रॉफी 2024/25 के लिए मोहम्मद शमी पर धमाकेदार अपडेट जारी किया

छवि स्रोत: गेट्टी मोहम्मद शमी. भारतीय क्रिकेट कंट्रोल बोर्ड (बीसीसीआई) ने मौजूदा बॉर्डर-गावस्कर ट्रॉफी 2024/25…

1 hour ago

: दो गिरफ़्तार गिरफ़्तार, 7.72 लाख की नकदी, पाँच लाख की गिरफ़्तारी

1 में से 1 ख़ासख़बर.कॉम: सोमवार, 23 दिसंबर 2024 शाम ​​5:45 बजे । उत्तर प्रदेश…

1 hour ago

जस्टिन बाल्डोनी के खिलाफ उत्पीड़न के आरोपों के बीच ब्लेक लाइवलीज़ के सह-कलाकार उनके साथ खड़े हैं

वाशिंगटन: ब्लेक लिवली की 'सिस्टरहुड ऑफ द ट्रैवलिंग पैंट्स' के सह-कलाकारों - अमेरिका फेरेरा, एम्बर…

1 hour ago