Japan's brave Moon lander "Moon Sniper" return to sleep.

Moon Sniper

The space agency announced on Monday that Japan's brave Moon lander was returned to sleep after surprisingly surviving its second extremely cold long lunar night.

As a result of the January soft landing of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), also known as the "Moon Sniper" due to its accuracy, Japan became the fifth country to accomplish a soft landing on the moon.

However, the lightweight unmanned spacecraft carrying a turtle-like mini-rover landed at an odd angle, causing its solar panels to face the wrong direction.

The spacecraft was resurrected in late February when the lunar night, which lasts roughly 14 Earth days, ended, defying the dim predictions.

Even though it was minus 130 degrees Celsius (below 200 degrees Fahrenheit), it managed to accomplish the same last week and send back fresh photographs.

 

Source: The Peninsula