“Slim” lunar man died for the third time from the deadly cold of the moon
Almost all lunar spacecraft break down during the 2-week long, very cold lunar night; But the Japanese lunar probe has surprisingly spent three two-week nights on the moon
In an astonishing feat, the smart Japanese lunar rover has survived three lunar nights to explore the moon, or Slim for short. Lunar spacecraft usually last only for one lunar day, equivalent to roughly two Earth weeks; Because the night of the moon is so long and cold that it destroys the batteries and electronic equipment of spacecrafts.
According to Khabar Online and quoted by Zomit, very few lunar rovers have been built to survive the nighttime temperature of the moon. During this period of almost 2 weeks, the temperature can drop to minus 133 degrees Celsius. Slim was also not going to be able to pass the night of the moon safely; Because there was no special heater or insulation to keep the spacecraft's electronics warm.
Japan's original plan was to end the mission by the first nightfall at the lunar landing site; As a result, less than two weeks after Slim reached the moon on January 19, 2023 (29 December 2023), no one expected the spacecraft to wake up again; But on February 25, 2023 (March 6), the sun rose above Slim's resting place near the south pole of the moon and shone its rays on the spacecraft, waking it up.
To their surprise, Slim's mission team went to work on Earth, ordering the rover to take pictures and measurements of its surroundings until the following night, when the mission was expected to actually end. In late March, the sun rose again and the spacecraft powered up again and began sending data back to Earth.
Photo description: The latest image of Slim's moon landing from the surface of the moon
By any measure, Slim's reawakening was a stunning success. This achievement was achieved while the spacecraft is upside down on a slope. However, Slim's amazingness was not over yet; Because the spacecraft returned from death on April 23, after the third lunar night.
Slim's official account on the X social network wrote: “Slim has maintained his original functions even after three nights on the moon.” A new image shared of the moon's surface shows that the rover is once again hard at work collecting data that will not only help us understand the moon, but could also lead to the development of spacecraft capable of surviving the lunar night.
