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People raise their hands after a successful moon landing the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), in a public viewing event in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, Japan January 20, 2024.
Kim Kyung-hoon Reuters
Japan staked a claim among national space powers on Friday, as its SLIM spacecraft reached the lunar surface.
The country’s SLIM lander launched in September and touched down on the lunar surface around 10:20 a.m. ET, according to telemetry readings the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. Engineers were checking the status of the spacecraft shortly after its landing.
The feat makes Japan the fifth country to land on the moon, following Russia (then the Soviet Union), the U.S., China and India. Last year, India joined the list of moon landings with its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Japan’s SLIM, which stands for “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon,” is a cargo research mission. It carries a variety of scientific payloads, including an analysis camera and a pair of lunar rovers.
An artist’s rendition of the SLIM lunar lander on the moon’s surface.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The SLIM lunar lander before launch.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency