Japan's lunar lander has defied the odds to survive a third lunar night, surprising even its designers.
Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Wednesday that the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) had successfully reestablished communication and was continuing to take snapshots and probe the lunar surface.
JAXA announced via SLIM’s account on the social media platform X that contact was made on Tuesday. The account also released an image taken by the lander at the earliest point in the moon’s phase so far, resulting in a brighter image overall with shorter shadows.