Japan’s SLIM ‘moon sniper’ reaches lunar orbit ahead of landmark landing

The mission took off on September 6 this year after several weather-related postponements. SLIM, dubbed the “Moon sniper,” took a uniquely long route to the Moon. If successful, it will also be the smallest and lightest spacecraft to land on the Moon. Interestingly, SLIM is the second Japanese mission to target a soft landing on the Moon. Hakuto, a private commercial mission led by Tokyo-based space technology firm ispace, failed crashed on to the lunar surface in April this year.

SLIM is a very small spacecraft, weighing just 200 kilograms. To put that into context, the Chandrayaan-3 lander weighed about 1,750 kilograms. The mission’s main objective is to demonstrate precision landing capabilities by landing within 100 metres of the chosen site.
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According to JAXA, pinpoint landing technology is essential to make sure that a spacecraft can land close enough to scientifically interesting sites on the Moon that are accessible by a rover. SLIM aims to land near a small crater named Shinoli in the equatorial region.