Edited by Deepali Verma
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his congratulations to Japan for achieving its first soft landing on the moon and said that Bharat is looking forward to the cooperation between the space organisations of the two countries. Japan stands as the fifth nation to successfully complete the soft landing on the moon in the late hours of January 20.
PM Modi, via his social media account on X, wrote, “Congratulations Prime Minister @Kishida230 and everyone at JAXA on achieving Japan’s first soft Moon landing. Bharat looks forward to cooperation in space exploration between @isro and JAXA”.
Further, PM Modi shared the post of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida who had congratulated everyone who played a part in the mission for the successful landing of the ‘Slim’ on the moon.
“It is extremely welcoming news that the small lunar landing demonstration vehicle “Slim” (@SLIM_JAXA) has successfully landed on the moon. Albeit, detailed analysis is required for the solar cells are not generating electricity. We would like to extend our respect to everyone involved for their efforts so far, and we will continue to extend our support to them as they take on further challenges,” PM Kishida posted on X.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency spacecraft’s solar cell, however, is not generating electricity, leaving looming clouds of uncertainty over the success of the mission.
JAXA officials informed previously that the team is analysing the data to figure out the cause of the solar cell issue and the next steps for the lander. However, the solar cell issue is expected because the spacecraft was not pointing in the intended direction.
The agency is of the view that the mission has met the criteria to label it a “minimum success”, as the spacecraft achieved a precise and soft lunar landing via optical navigation. The landing gives Japan the status of the third country to land on the moon this century, and the fifth overall.
The small-scale SLIM robotic explorer, having launched in September, uses the nickname “Moon Sniper” as it carried new precision technology to demonstrate a “pinpoint” landing, as per the reports of CNN.
Meanwhile, in a major milestone earlier this month, Bharat had placed its primary dedicated solar mission, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, in the Halo orbit.
The successful launch of the maiden solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3.
