Japan’s space agency said Monday that its first lunar lander had regained power and resumed operations, more than a week after its precision landing.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) had been in a dormant state since Jan. 20, due to the craft swaying sideways during its descent and landing on its side, facing away from the sun. This resulted in the probe being unable to use solar cells to generate power, and it had to be switched off three hours later.
Before its shutdown, SLIM was able to deploy two small rovers, LEV-1 and LEV-2, from above the lunar surface. LEV-2, also known as SORA-Q, captured images of the probe’s landing, its difficult positioning and its surrounding area — the Shioli crater on the near side of the moon.