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August 27th, 2023
Image credit: JAXA
Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is set for liftoff, co-riding with the country’s X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) – a new X-ray astronomical satellite carrying new generation of X-ray imaging spectroscopy technologies to resolve mysteries regarding the formation of the universe.
An H-IIA launch vehicle carrying the payloads will depart the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center.
The launch is slated for Sunday, August 27, 8:26 pm Eastern Time (9:26:22 a.m. Japan Standard Time (JST); 0:26:22 a.m. (UTC) on August 28, 2023).
Image credit: JAXA/ISAS
Landing objective
SLIM is to arrive in lunar orbit three to four months after launch, circuit the Moon for a month, then attempt a landing four to six months after launch.
The landing objective is to be within roughly 330 feet (100 meters) of the target point, the ejecta blanket of Shioli crater.
Image credit: NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/GSFC/ASU
Image credit: NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/GSFC/ASU
The feature is a small lunar impact crater located within the much larger Cyrillus crater on the near side of the Moon. It is a young crater with a prominent ray system.
The SLIM project aims to demonstrate pinpoint landing and obstacle detection techniques for touching down on the Moon.
Image processing
SLIM researchers are eager to convert conventional exploration of “descending where it is easy to land’” to “descending where you want to land.”
Image credit: JAXA/SLIM Project
The SLIM project is led by members of the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), and researchers from universities and other institutions across the country are working together to advance examination and development.
After reaching the sky above the landing site, the SLIM is to descend almost vertically while detecting the altitude with a landing radar. During this vertical descent phase, obstacle detection is performed at less than 985 feet (300 meters) above the lunar terrain.
SLIM is designed to process images captured by pointing a camera toward the lunar surface, recognizes craters, and compares them with the map of the lunar surface pre-loaded in memory to accurately measure its own position. SLIM engineers have developed a dedicated image processing algorithm with high computational efficiency to achieve both accuracy and processing time.
palm-sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2.
Image credit: JAXA/ISAS
Sloping area
For showcasing landing technologies, the SLIM team has selected a target site neighboring the Shioli crater near the “Sea of Nectar.” The area has a relatively constant slope of 15 degrees or less, according to a SLIM press kit. “Therefore, the method of landing safely on such a slope becomes important.”
Landing on such sloping area will be increasingly required in the future.
Image credit: Takara Tomy/JAXA/ISAS
In the case of SLIM, the main landing gear first touches the ground and then rotates forward to stabilize. This technique has shown excellent reliable landing results through simulation, the press kits states.
Image credit: Takara Tomy
Transformer
SLIM is to deploy a palm-sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) jointly developed with toy manufacturer, Takara Tomy, along with the Sony Group Corporation and Doshisha University.
The ball-shaped vehicle — SORA-Q — is equipped with two cameras and can transform its shape to traverse the lunar surface.
The wheels that move freely left and right can run in two types of running modes, “butterfly running” and “crawling running” because the rotating shaft is eccentric, according to the Takara Tomy company.
The popular toy manufacturer is scheduled to release SORA-Q for public purchase in early September 2023. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 27,500 yen (tax included).
Go to this Takara Tomy video at: https://youtu.be/PupLqwt4d2o
Posted in Space News
