Successful moon landing prepares Japan for the future

Japan joined an elite club last week when it successfully landed an unmanned probe on the moon.

The pinpoint landing of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was a huge boost for the confidence and credibility of this country’s space program, a project with important implications for Japan’s economy and national security.

The nation’s space program has a long history. More than a half century ago, it became the fourth country to put a satellite into orbit, following the Soviet Union, the United States and France. It has since put more than 300 satellites in orbit, consolidating its reputation as a serious spacefaring nation.

Recently, it has encountered difficulties. Last March, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which oversees the country’s space program, blew up its flagship next-generation H3 rocket during a test flight when its second stage failed to ignite; that incident followed an aborted launch the month before. Last April, ispace, a private company, failed in its attempt to put a lander on the moon.

Those setbacks raised the stakes for the SLIM project. When the probe was launched four months ago, it aimed to accomplish the first so-called pinpoint landing on the lunar surface, a touchdown within 100 meters of a designated site. This precision is essential to establishing a manned base on the moon, which will depend on targeted supply missions.

At a news conference Thursday, JAXA officials confirmed that the landing was accurate, just 55 meters from the designated location. Those officials speculated that SLIM would have touched down even closer to the target — perhaps just three to four meters — if not for “smart eyes” technology that autonomously moved the probe to avoid obstacles.

Japan is now the fifth country to successfully land a probe on the moon, following the U.S., Russia, China and India. Equally significant, SLIM had a budget of $100 million, a relatively small amount for a space project, an increasingly important consideration given the accelerating tempo of operations.

SLIM wasn’t an unqualified success, however. The probe’s solar panels are not functioning, forcing its premature shutdown. Photographs of SLIM taken by SORA-Q, two baseball-size rovers released before touchdown, show the probe upside down on the lunar surface, the seeming result of an engine failure.

Lying in that position prevents the panels from being exposed to the sun, denying the probe energy. Officials retain hope that this may prove temporary and shifting sunlight could allow them to bring SLIM back to life and resume its mission.

The nation’s Basic Space Law stipulates that Japan’s space program is intended to facilitate international cooperation and diplomacy with regard to space use and development. SLIM will advance that mandate.

Japan is, with the U.S., Canada and India, part of the Lunar Gateway project that aims to develop an international space station that orbits the Earth and the Moon in preparation for Mars missions.

Japan is also part of Artemis, a U.S.-led international program that seeks to establish a forward presence on the moon to facilitate deep space exploration. Artemis aims to put people back on the lunar surface by next year, although most experts expect that target date to be pushed back. SLIM will be a vital component of that project, helping to build the lunar base camp. Japan will also be developing a rover for use by astronauts on the moon.

JAXA is working with India in the Lunar Polar Exploration mission, which aims to acquire information about water resources on the moon, another key component of any plan to establish a long-term inhabited base on the moon. As part of SLIM’s original mission, the probe would study minerals and elements on the moon’s surface to begin preparing for that task; that is why scientists still hope that they can revive the lander and resume the transmission of data.

For some, space exploration is a vanity project. A country with pressing domestic problems and a spiraling budget deficit should, they argue, focus attention closer to home. But a successful space program is no such indulgence. It is in fact an investment that will pay long-term economic and national security benefits. And structured properly, with smart targets and the right incentives to motivate the private sector to get involved, it can be done efficiently.

Space is increasingly critical to national security, a domain that is essential to telecommunications and a functioning military. Mastery of space technology is key to a presence that ensures surveillance of the globe, early warning of threats and dangers as well as the instantaneous communications that are central to a 21st-century economy.

For generations, the moon was just a source of wonder, a near constant feature of the sky that was largely unknowable. Now, however, it is not only within reach, but governments are determined to establish a presence there to exploit its rich mineral resources, such as aluminum, iron ore, platinum and titanium. The moon also has considerable amounts of helium-3, which is needed for the rocket fuel and nuclear fusion that will enable deep space travel.

The countries that first establish a presence on the moon will lead in the creation of governance mechanisms that guide the exploitation of those resources, potentially locking in a first-mover advantage. That race is heating up, with more countries launching lunar missions and honing the capabilities they need to join the competition.

The nation can play a variety of roles in that effort. In addition to the SLIM technology, Japan is developing the H3, an expendable rocket that is intended to compete with the SpaceX Falcon 9, the workhorse of today’s space industry; there were 96 successful Falcon9 launches last year. Unfortunately, the H3 program is struggling to overcome technical problems.

Japan also aims to develop a “spaceport,” which will serve as a hub for regional space programs, in Hokkaido. This too will serve the Space Law’s goal of promoting international cooperation.

Perhaps the most important outcome of the SLIM landing is its ability to inspire. Humankind faces many difficult challenges; the answers to some of them will be found in space.

Masaki Fujimoto, deputy director general of JAXA’s ISAS, explained that SLIM should encourage “children to tackle challenging projects such as this and pursue their own interests.” SLIM’s greatest accomplishment would be spurring some of the young people watching this week’s videos from the moon to become the engineers and astronauts that help humankind conquer space.