On January 19, 2024, at 10:20 a.m. EST, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) successfully touched down on the lunar surface. Just five days later, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) passed over the landing site and captured images of SLIM.
The LRO snapped the photo from an altitude of approximately 50 miles (80 km) above the Moon’s surface. In the image, bright streaks on the left side indicate rocky material that was ejected from the nearby Shioli crater, which is relatively young.
With this achievement, Japan becomes the fifth nation to accomplish a soft landing on the Moon.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the LRO mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, the LRO has amassed a wealth of data using its seven powerful instruments, significantly advancing our understanding of the Moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) is managed and operated by Arizona State University.
