insert_link Science & Technology Japan craft made successful pin-point landing, space agency says Japan's "Moon Sniper" craft landed around 55 metres (180 feet) from its target, the country's space agency said Thursday as it released the first images from the mission. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), dubbed the "Moon Sniper" for its pin-point technology, had the goal of touching down within 100 metres (330 feet) of a specific landing spot. That is much more precise than the usual landing zone […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 34
insert_link Science & Technology Japan’s little Moon toy: the camera probe ready to roll By Natsuko Fukue On board Japan's "Moon Sniper" spacecraft is a little robot with a big mission: to pop open like a Transformer toy, wiggle across the lunar surface and beam images back to Earth. The shape-shifting SORA-Q probe -- co-developed by a major toy company -- has been compared to a friendly "Star Wars" droid and a sea turtle because of the way its metal form can navigate the […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 19