Japan’s space agency, JAXA, has pushed back the lunar mission that aims to deliver the Intelligent Lander to Study the Moon (SLIM) for the third time, confirming another postponement of the launch date. The update came through official communications from JAXA and related partners involved in the program’s rollout. The decision appears to be tied to weather considerations and high-altitude wind conditions observed during preparation, leading the project team to pause and reassess the timetable before moving forward.
The project, developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Launch Services (MHILS), centers on the H-2A rocket as the carrier for SLIM. While the exact new launch window has not been published, the postponement adds to a series of delays that have affected the schedule since initial plans in 2021. Previous tentative dates were shifted multiple times for weather-related and operational reasons, underscoring the challenges of coordinating a precision landing mission on the Moon.
SLIM is positioned as a landmark undertaking for Japan. The mission emphasizes a controlled descent that will enable the lander to assess and map lunar craters as it approaches the surface. A core goal of the mission is to demonstrate precise landing capabilities, aiming to touch down within a tight radius of the intended target. The mission’s design envisions landing accuracy better than 100 meters, with other contemporary landers achieving accuracy within roughly 1 kilometer of their target. Success would mark Japan as the fifth nation to achieve a lunar landing, following historic efforts by the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and India.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 project is noted in recent discussions as a precedent in successful lunar surface instrumentation deployment. The broader context highlights the ongoing global interest in Moon missions and the diverse approaches nations are taking to study the lunar environment, validate landing technologies, and broaden scientific insights from the lunar surface.