Japan launches SLIM moon lander, XRISM X-ray telescope on space doubleheader

Source: Space.com

Japan launches SLIM moon lander, XRISM X-ray telescope on space doubleheader

By Mike Wall published about 2 hours ago

A few months from now, the SLIM moon probe will make a historic lunar landing try.

Japan sent two ambitious missions soaring into the heavens today (Sept. 6) — a pioneering lunar lander and a powerful X-ray space telescope.

A Japanese H-2A rocket carrying the SLIM moon lander and the XRISM space telescope lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center today (Sept. 6) at 7:42 p.m. EDT (2342 GMT; 8:42 a.m. Japan time on Sept. 7). That was about 10 days later than originally planned, thanks to weather delays.

Both spacecraft were deployed on schedule, sequentially less than an hour after liftoff. If all goes according to plan, a few months from now, SLIM ("Smart Lander for Investigating Moon&quot will attempt to pull off Japan's first-ever soft lunar landing — a pinpoint touchdown that will pave the way for even more ambitious feats down the road.

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Read more: https://www.space.com/japan-launches-slim-moon-lander-xrism-space-telescope