Japan's Moon Lander Survives A Second Weekslong Lunar Night, Beating Predictions

JAXA called the signal, received late on Sunday night, a “miracle” because the probe was not designed to survive the lunar night, when temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius (minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit).

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Japan's Moon Lander Survives A Second Weekslong Lunar Night, Beating Predictions Photo: File Image
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Japan's first moon lander responded to a signal from Earth, suggesting it has survived a second freezing weekslong lunar night, Japan's space agency said on Monday.

JAXA called the signal, received late on Sunday night, a “miracle” because the probe was not designed to survive the lunar night, when temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius (minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit). 

The craft, Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, made a “pinpoint” touchdown on January 20, making Japan became the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon. 

But the probe landed the wrong way up, with its solar panels initially unable to see the sun and had to be turned off within hours. 

SLIM regained power on the eighth day after its landing, when it got the sun. 

For several days, SLIM collected geological data from moon rocks, before going back into hibernation in late January to wait out another lunar night.

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