Japan's Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) mission is just minutes away from its dangerous landing on the lunar surface.
If successful, Japan will become only the fifth country to land on the moon.
Landing has begun and Slim is about halfway through the descent to the lunar surface.
JAXA, Japan's space agency, expects the landing to take about 20 minutes, with landing expected at 3:20 p.m. GMT.
Web will also bring you the latest updates as we land, so be sure to check back!
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will attempt to become the fifth nation to successfully land on the Moon today, as Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) prepares for its risky final descent to the lunar surface
Shortly after 11:00 p.m. Japanese Standard Time (15:00 GMT), Slim began its descent to the lunar surface.
And according to JAXA, landing the Lander Slim only takes 20 minutes.
However, Kushiki Kenji, SLIM mission sub-project manager, said: “The beginning of the delay to landing on the lunar surface is expected to be a breathless, numbing 20 minutes of terror!”
Slim is currently in the third boost phase and is just minutes away from the final descent.
Now that the vehicle is less than 1 km away, it must carefully balance its fuel consumption to ensure a smooth landing.
When Slim reaches 500 m, the first hover phase begins.
We are now in the phase of vertical descent. the final phase of the landing process.
This is the critical moment of the landing attempt, where Slim must make a difficult landing on a sloping surface surrounded by debris.
Slim's current trajectory (red) is largely consistent with the planned route (white) and JAXA indicates that the current speed is good as the lander enters the second boost stage
As the vehicle's mass decreases, its speed increases, which continues to increase throughout the boost phase.
When Slim reached an altitude of less than 15 km above the Moon, it entered a second rollout phase and used its image scans to find a landing site.
As soon as Slim touches down, we know almost immediately whether the landing was successful.
However, it can take weeks to months to determine how accurate the landing was.
On the screen you can now see a series of measurements that provide information about the vehicle, its location and its fuel status.
JAXA scientists are currently waiting for Slim's descent to the lunar surface to begin. Once the spacecraft begins its landing process, it will touch down within 20 minutes
The red line of the graph indicates Slim's current trajectory, while the white line indicates the planned route.
This is the same telemetry observed by JAXA scientists in the flight control room.
So far, the telemetry data seems to indicate that Slim is on the right track.
At an altitude of 20 km, Slim began the first boost stage.
This thrust lasted for just over a minute, burning through the lander's limited fuel supply.
According to JAXA, the descent rate remained within the correct window and brought the vehicle to 25 km, after which Slim entered sailing mode.
The ship now begins to search the area to find the exact landing site.
Now that Slim enters powered descent mode, you can see the approach trajectory in detail.
Slim will attempt a challenging soft landing on a slope near Shioli Crater. To land safely, it must land within 330 feet, an accuracy so high that the project has been nicknamed the “Moon Sniper.”
About half of all lunar landing attempts ever failed, with landing being the riskiest moment.
To make matters even more difficult, JAXA is attempting a “soft landing,” meaning it wants to bring the lander to the surface without damaging the equipment.
As Slim is pulled down by the moon's gravity, he has to constantly fire his rockets to slow down just enough.
The goal of the mission is not only to land on the moon, but also to further expand Japan's ambitions in space.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials say a successful landing would pave the way for a future crewed landing in a pressurized rover.
Space agencies from around the world wish JAXA every success in the mission.
NASA's Goddard Flight Center wrote in a tweet: “Good luck from your friends at NASA Goddard!”
However, the space agency is having little luck with its new precision landing systems.
Good luck from your friends at NASA Goddard! 🌟
— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) January 19, 2024
Last year, a lander launched by the private Japanese company ISpace crashed into the moon because the onboard computer could no longer detect its altitude.
To ensure Slim doesn't make the same mistake, JAXA developed a “Smart Eyes” system that quickly processes photos of the surface to guide the vehicle downwards.
By comparing the moon's pockmarked surface with data from previous landers, Slim can navigate with a far greater degree of precision.
But JAXA doesn't make it easy for itself and has chosen a particularly dangerous landing site.
The lander was launched from Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture in September last year. In addition to the slim lander, the rocket also carried an X-ray satellite developed jointly by NASA
The rocket (pictured) carried Slim into its lunar orbit, where the lander is currently at an altitude of 9.3 miles (15 km) above the lunar surface
Mr Kenji said: “Lunar orbiters such as Kaguya, the US's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and India's Chandrayaan missions have provided large amounts of high-resolution observational data of the lunar surface.”
“Therefore, interest in lunar exploration and resource exploration has shifted from “somewhere on the lunar surface” to “the rock next to this particular crater.”
Slim will attempt to land on a slope near Shioli's equatorial crater, a region littered with debris that could topple the lander.
The vehicle must land exactly within its target zone to avoid a potentially catastrophic crash.
However, the scientific benefit of such a landing could be great, as this lunar region is believed to have been formed by ancient volcanic activity.
JAXA said: “A closer look at such minerals could provide information about the internal structure and formation of the moon.”
Slim will attempt a two-stage landing, first descending vertically and using his image processing software to navigate downward. Next, the lander turns on its side and attempts to land horizontally on its four legs. During this time, as shown in the diagram, Slim will also launch two microrobots, LEV-1 and LEV-2
Slim isn't expected to stay on the moon for very long, as the side of the crater will soon be plunged into darkness.
Out of reach of the sun, Slim's solar panels will soon run out of power and the lander will likely break in the falling temperatures.
However, JAXA has also sent two mini-robots that they hope will help collect important data before time runs out.
One of them is a 2kg bouncy robot that hurls itself across the rocky surface.
The other is a spherical robot developed by Tomy, the same company that created the Transformers toys.
The toy maker has used the same transformation technology to help this micro-drone change shape as it explores the environment.
The larger robot (left) is designed to “hop” across the lunar surface, while the smaller, spherical robot (right) was designed by the toy company behind Transformers to change shape as it explores
The smaller spherical rover can change shape, allowing it to move through the dry lunar soil without getting stuck
Designed by toy maker Tomy in collaboration with JAXA, this palm-sized robot is launched from the lander before Slim touches down
Slim's launch last September comes as a number of countries are ramping up their lunar missions.
As part of this new space race, NASA has supported another private landing attempt planned later this year.
While the Peregrine lander developed by Astrobotics suffered a fuel leak that made landing impossible, NASA hopes this new venture from Intuitive Machines will be more successful.
In total, NASA has planned five lunar landing attempts by private companies by 2024.
The American space agency is also pursuing its own goal of a manned landing on the lunar satellite with the Artemis program.
However, NASA recently announced that it would postpone the crewed landing of Artemis III to 2026 due to safety concerns.