Japan SLIM Moon Lander: Launch date, mission, rocket and more; meet the Moon sniper

After the successful landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander on the Moon, there is another spacecraft gearing up to touch down on the lunar surface Japan SLIM Moon Lander. In fact, Japan had recently announced the launch of its first-ever moon mission. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has confirmed that it will launch the Moon lander on its H-IIA rocket.

This mission had to take off in the last week of August, but because of the bad weather conditions, It was postponed. The mission will now launch on 7 September and the aim is to achieve a soft landing on the Moon’s surface.The launch will take place from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan. The launch time of the mission is scheduled at 5:12 a.m. IST. The launch window will open until September 15.

SLIM mission

The name of the lander used in the mission is SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating It is a small spacecraft with a weight of about 200 kg. Dubbed "moon sniper", SLIM is designed to execute a precise landing within 100 meters of the planned site. The site chosen for the landing is near a small crater named Shioli which falls in the equatorial region of the Moon.

The H-IIA rocket used in the mission was developed by JAXA and MHI. This rocket has a track record of 45 successful launches out of 46 attempts.

Notably, the launch of the H-IIA No. 47 was postponed for several months because of the failure of JAXA's new medium-lift H3 rocket. It was going to launch in March.

Along with the Moon mission, JAXA is also planning to launch a new X-ray telescope that will be used to spy on some of the major points in the universe. The name of the telescope is called X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM).

The mission’s success can have a great impact on Japan’s aerospace development initiatives. It will be thrilling to witness the two moon missions on their journeys to find hidden lunar secrets.