The H2A launch vehicle carried Japan’s first lunar lander, SLIM, into space from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. Ongoing updates about the mission are published by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and reported by national space news outlets.
SLIM stands 2.4 meters tall and weighs about 200 kilograms. Its primary mission is to map the Moon’s craters and topography using technologies that echo facial recognition systems in their pattern-matching efficiency. A distinctive instrument on SLIM is a specialized camera capable of gauging the iron content and other elemental compositions in lunar rocks. The lander aims for an ultra-precise soft landing with an accuracy target of 100 meters. By comparison, the Apollo 11 landing site was navigated with an accuracy of roughly 20 kilometers. SLIM was planned to launch alongside the XRISM space telescope and to touchdown near the Shioli crater at coordinates approximately 13.3°S, 25.2°E.
The SLIM project, or Intelligent Lunar Lander, is a lunar mission developed by JAXA. On a date in late summer, the launch was temporarily postponed due to weather concerns, notably strong winds at Tanegashima. JAXA subsequently announced a revised window before mid-September, leading to a launch resolution in early September.
The overall development cost for the SLIM program is estimated at around 18 billion yen.
Notes and updates from mission control emphasize the collaborative nature of the effort, the precision required for lunar entry, and the ongoing assessment of lunar surface properties that SLIM’s instruments can reveal. The mission builds on Japan’s growing strategy to conduct high-precision, small-lander experiments that complement larger exploration missions and telescope projects.