Though the Chandrayaan-2 mission was a partial success – since it failed to land on the Moon, its orbiter remains operational even today and hovers above the lunar surface.

This helped Japan’s SLIM to gather imagery and choose a landing spot for the spacecraft.

ALSO READ: ISRO’s Vikram lander, Chandrayaan-3 gets pinged by retroreflector from NASA spacecraft

To date, the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s orbiter continues to study the Moon and provides critical data on its topography, mineralogy, and the search for water ice. It weighs 3,850 kg and was a leap forward from its predecessor Chandrayaan-1.

The Chandrayaan-1 had orbited the Moon at a height of 100 km for mapping purposes.

In another development, a NASA spacecraft, a laser instrument orbiting the Moon, has successfully pinged the Vikram lander of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, the US space agency said on January 24.

ISRO-JAXA joint mission:

ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are set to collaborate with the upcoming LUPEX mission, a joint India-Japan enterprise. However, before the collaboration between the two came into the picture, JAXA already benefited from ISRO’s experiences.

SLIM mission:

After a months-long journey, SLIM entered lunar orbit on December 25. It was aimed for a precision landing within 100 metres of its target site.

The latest imagery shows it tipped over which blocked its solar panel from getting charged. As per details, the SLIM’s front is seen resting on the lunar terrain, its solar panels unfortunately obstructed and cutting off the potential for solar power generation.

Meanwhile, JAXA’s scientists said it would take a few months for them to assess what went wrong during the landing.

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Published: 25 Jan 2024, 06:31 PM IST