NEW DELHI:
Japan
made history on Friday, becoming only the fifth nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon. The US, the Soviet Union, China and India are the only other nations to have accomplished the feat so far.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
's
Smart Lander
for Investigating Moon (Slim) probe, dubbed the "Moon Sniper", landed on the slope of a crater just south of the lunar equator using "pinpoint technology". The craft's landing site was an area within 100 metres (330 feet) of a spot on the surface, far tighter than the usual landing zone of several kilometres.
"No other nation has achieved this. Proving Japan has this [pinpoint] technology brings us a huge advantage in upcoming international missions like Artemis," said Shinichiro Sakai, JAXA's SLIM project manager. The pinpoint technology has been previously used by Japan to successfully land probes on two asteroids.
JAXA stresses its high-precision technology will become a powerful tool in future exploration of hilly Moon poles, seen as a potential source of oxygen, fuel and water.
The successful Moon landing reverses Japan's fortunes in space after two failed lunar missions and recent rocket failures, including explosions after take-off.
Two probes
On landing, Slim will deploy two mini-probes - a hopping vehicle as big as a microwave oven and a baseball-sized wheeled rover - that will take pictures of the spacecraft.
Tech giant Sony Group, toymaker Tomy and several Japanese universities jointly developed the robots.
Japan is increasingly looking to play a bigger role in space, partnering with close ally Washington to respond to China's military and technological might, including in space. Japan boasts a number of private-sector space startups and aims to send an astronaut to the Moon as part of Nasa's Artemis programme.
In August last year, India's Chandrayaan-3 made a historic touchdown on the Moon's south pole, a major technological feat given the rough terrain, highlighting India's rise as a major player in space.
Japan is also planning a joint unmanned lunar polar exploration with India in 2025.
(With inputs from agencies)
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