Japan is attempting to land its high-precision “Moon Sniper” probe on the lunar surface and will become only the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon – if all goes according to plan.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is hoping for a precise landing of its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe, within 100 metres of the designated target, a technology it calls unprecedented and crucial for advancing lunar exploration, particularly in the quest for lunar water and the potential for human habitation.
Nicknamed the Moon Sniper, SLIM will start a 20-minute touchdown phase on its one-way mission from midnight on Saturday, trying to land on a target site roughly the size of two athletic tracks on the slope of a crater just south of the lunar equator.
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