VOA科学技术2024--Japan's Moon Vehicle Lands Successfully but Is Losing Power

Japan's Moon Vehicle Lands Successfully but Is Losing Power

Japan on Friday became the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. The mission's aim was to carry out an exact landing and to collect information about the Earth's only natural satellite.

Japan's space agency, known as JAXA, said its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, called SLIM, landed on the moon's surface at 15:20 UTC Friday. It then re-established communication with Earth. But its solar panels were not able to create electricity, possibly because they are pointed¹ in the wrong direction.

"SLIM is now operating only on its battery, and we are prioritizing the transfer of its data to Earth," Hitoshi Kuninaka, the head of JAXA's research center, told reporters.

A battery is a device that stores electricity.

Space officials are attempting to save power by turning off equipment like its heaters. But SLIM's battery only lasts "a few hours."

JAXA hopes a change in the sun's position in the sky will cause the panels to receive sunlight to power the vehicle, Kuninaka said. He added that it takes 30 days for the direction of sunlight to change on the moon.

SLIM attempted to land within 100 meters of its target, instead of within several kilometers. JAXA said this exact landing technology will become a powerful tool in the search for oxygen, fuel, and water on the moon.

Landings on the moon

Japan aims to play a bigger part in space, partnering with ally the United States. Japan is also home to several private space companies. JAXA aims to send an astronaut to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program in the next few years.

But the Japanese space agency has recently faced several setbacks in rocket development. They include the launch failure in March of its new H3 rocket which is meant to compete with rockets made by private companies like SpaceX.

The failure caused delays in Japan's space missions, including SLIM and joint² moon exploration with India. India made a historic landing on the moon's most southern point with its Chandrayaan-3 probe.

JAXA has twice landed on asteroids³, but the moon's gravity makes landing on it more difficult, its scientists said. Three missions to the moon by Japanese company ispace, Russia's space agency, and American company Astrobotic have failed in the past year.

Only four nations, the former Soviet⁴ Union, the United States, China and India, have successfully carried out a soft landing on the moon. No private company has been able to do it.

SLIM measures 2.4 meters by 2.7 meters—about the size of a car. It has two main engines, along with 12 smaller thrusters. It also includes equipment like solar cells, radar⁵, and cameras.

SLIM weighed 700 kilograms at launch. That is less than half the weight of India's Chandrayaan-3.

As the probe got closer to the surface, it was designed to compare its camera's images with satellite photos of the moon. JAXA has said this method permits an exact landing.

On landing, reports say SLIM successfully released two small robot probes. One moves by taking small jumps, or hops⁶. The other is an even smaller baseball-sized wheeled vehicle. Sony Group and toy company Tomy, and several Japanese universities developed the robots.

SLIM was launched on Japan's H-IIA rocket in September. It has taken a fuel-saving four-month trip to the moon.

Words in This Story

mission – n. a flight by an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific task

solar panel – n. a large, flat piece of equipment that uses the sun's light or heat to create electricity

prioritize – v. to organize (things) so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first

transfer – v. to move (data or money) from one place to another electronically

probe – n. a device that is used to obtain information from outer space and send it back to Earth

toy – n. something a child plays with

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。