Japan became the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon but the probe was not generating solar power, its space agency said Saturday, during a mission to prove a “precision” landing technology and revitalize a space program that has suffered setbacks.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed the moon’s surface at around 12:20 a.m. local time and re-established communication with Earth, but its solar panels were not able to generate electricity, possibly because they are angled wrong.
“SLIM is now operating only on its battery, and we are prioritizing the transfer
