Japan Successfully Launches 'Moon Sniper' Lander SLIM: Tokyo’s Space Ambitions Attain New Heights

As a major milestone, Japan's H-IIA rocket successfully launched the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), also known as the "moon sniper." After three delays last month owing to bad weather, today's launch finally got off the ground at Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre. Production and launch of the rocket were overseen by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Experimental precision landing technology is built into SLIM to land within 100 meters of the moon. The normal landing range on the moon is many km, therefore this accuracy is significantly better. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), SLIM is a huge deal since it allows spacecraft to land precisely where they are needed, which in turn makes it possible to explore other celestial bodies for their underlying resources.

A research satellite co-developed by NASA and the European Space Agency was also aboard the rocket, significantly strengthening international cooperation in space exploration.

In particular, JAXA highlighted that this mission is a first for the entire world in terms of landing precisely on massive celestial bodies like the Moon. After prior difficulties in lunar missions, such as communication problems with a NASA rocket and the disaster of a lander during descent by a Japanese startup, the successful launch is all the more noteworthy.

Early next year, SLIM hopes to touch down on the moon, joining a growing number of international missions to the moon. The recent success of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission to the south pole of the moon has bolstered international enthusiasm for lunar exploration and research.

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