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Japan’s first lunar lander separates from carrier rocket

The Lunar Module separated 47 minutes after launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan

TOKYO, September 7. /TASS/. Japan’s first lunar probe Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM) has successfully separated from the H2A carrier rocket, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

The lunar module separated routinely 47 minutes after the launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. According to Japanese specialists, SLIM will reach the lunar orbit in three to four months to land on the Moon in January or February 2024.

The H2A carrier rocket is put in orbit the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), which was built in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.

The launch of the lunar module was postponed several times due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The 2.4-meter, 200-kilogram SLIM probe is designed to explore the Moon's craters and topography using technologies similar to those used in facial recognition systems. SLIM is also equipped with a special camera that can measure the amount of iron and other elements in rocks on the lunar surface. The data obtained by the spacecraft will be used in particular as part of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lunar program Artemis.

The H2A carrier rocket is also carrying the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), which was built in collaboration with NASA.

Japan originally planned to send a module to the Moon in May, but the launch was postponed following an abortive launch of Japan's new H3 heavy-lift rocket. If the mission is successful, Japan will become the fifth country in the world after the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and India to land its module on the Moon.

In April 2023, the Japanese company Ispace launched the Hakuto-R module, which was supposed to be the world's first privately developed vehicle to land on the Moon. However, communication with it was lost as it probably crashed while hitting the lunar surface.

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