Japan prepares to launch shape-shifting lunar rover after India's success

The probe is named «Lunar Sniper» because of the accuracy with which it is designed to hit a landing target. Photo: Jaxa

Japan prepares to take the final shot in the intensifying international space race with the launch of the Lunar Sniper lander on Monday.

A domestic-made H2-A rocket is due to lift off from southern Japan on Sunday evening from lander, which is expected to reach the surface of the moon in four to six months.

The rocket, whose launch was delayed due to bad weather, will also be deployed. x-ray imaging satellite.

Earlier this week, India completed a historic landing near the south of the moon, becoming only the fourth country to achieve a so-called soft landing on the moon after the US, Russia and China.

Japan's hopes to continue the race to exploit the resources of the moon are now focused on a smart lunar lander (Slim), although the probe was nicknamed the «Lunar Sniper» because of the accuracy with which it is designed to hit lunar targets. landing target.

Less than 8 feet tall and weighing 1,545 pounds, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) aims to land its spacecraft within 300 feet of its target on the surface, which is significantly better than the mile or more traditionally considered precision landings. The agency plans to place the probe in the Sea of ​​Nectar, in the lower latitudes of the near side of the Moon.

Jaxa plans to place the Smart Lander probe for lunar exploration in the Sea of ​​Nectar, at the lower latitudes of the Moon's near side. Photo: AFP/Getty

«This is part of the space race, the race to find water in the form of ice near the polar regions,» said Kazuto Suzuki, professor of science and technology policy at the University of Tokyo.

“But the main goal of this mission is to demonstrate the technologies and methods needed for a safe and precise landing on the moon,” he said. «This is extremely difficult to do, in part because of the six-second communication delay between control here on Earth and the lander, as we recently observed on a Russian spacecraft.»

The mission will also use a shape-shifting mini-rover the size of palm-sized, developed with a toy company to study how the Moon formed by examining exposed parts of the lunar mantle.

The SORA-Q robot will unfold like a transformer, splitting in half, exposing a pair of cameras, and separating two hemispheres on wheels before starting the action.

Japan's space program is not immune to failure: in November last year, communication with Jaxa's Omotenashi lunar lander was lost. A private company's first attempt to land a ship on the moon in April also failed, with J-Space claiming its probe was damaged in a «hard landing».

Japan's miniature lunar rover

Rockets were also hit. encountered problems: the next-generation H3 failed shortly after launch in March, and an Epsilon missile was similarly destroyed five months earlier. Ground testing of the Epsilon S solid rocket motor last month ended in a devastating explosion 50 seconds later.

Jaxa, however, was not intimidated by its mission, Prof. Suzuki says, and Slim's mission is seen as building a block to further explore our solar system.

“Currently, it is Russia and China who are trying to create a permanent base on the surface of the moon, so they are looking for water in the polar regions, but Japan is an ally of the United States in the Artemis project,” he said.

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