Japan’s moon lander resumes space operations after temporary shutdown

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) — Japan on Monday said its lunar probe resumed operations after a temporary power shutdown.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it "successfully" established communication with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on Sunday night, and has "resumed operations."

The SLIM had landed on the lunar surface on Jan. 20 at 12.20 a.m. (1520GMT Jan. 19).

After running on battery power for several hours, the lander had shut down, as its solar panels were positioned away from the sun before it sent home images of the moon's surface.

"We obtained first light for the 10-band observation. This figure shows the 'toy poodle' observed in the multi-band observation," the Japanese space agency said on the scientific activities of the probe so far.

Japan is the fifth country to put a lander on the lunar surface, after the former Soviet Union, the US, China, and India.