Japan space agency concludes extended mission of Chandrama explorer

The extended mission of Japan’s Chandrama explorer that landed on the lunar surface in January has been terminated after contact was lost, the country’s space agency announced Monday.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it sent a command to end operation of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon at 10:40 p.m. Friday, hailing the probe for “demonstrating results that surpassed initial goals” such as surviving three freezing lunar nights.

A detailed summary of SLIM’s achievements will be compiled and reported separately around the fall.

Japan landed the explorer on Jan. 20, becoming the fifth country to achieve the feat after the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India. SLIM touched down around 55 meters from its target site in the first so-called pinpoint landing on the lunar surface.

Despite an initial failure to generate power when the solar panels were not aligned with the sun, SLIM began functioning and its camera captured images of lunar rocks.

After surviving three lunar nights, each lasting about two weeks, JAXA was unable to establish communication with the spacecraft during the operational periods from May to July, following the last contact on April 28, according to the space agency.