The Japanese SLIM probe, which made Japan the fifth country in the world to successfully land on the moon, has begun operating from the lunar surface, confirmed power generation, established communication and resumed exploration, confirmed early this Monday morning. Japanese Aerospace Agency (JAXA).
The SLIM (acronym for Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) landed on the satellite at 15:20 GMT on January 19, after a rugged 20-minute descent in which it lost one of its two engines.
The device managed to establish communication with the Earth after landing on the moon, but was unable to generate energy from its solar cells because the behavior during landing was not as planned and its panels were oriented towards the west, a problem that has already been resolved. solved.
