New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-2 mission has become a cornerstone for international space missions, including Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).
SLIM, the moon lander of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), landed on the moon on January 20, and, the agency confirmed on Thursday that it did so approximately 55m east of the original target landing site, meeting its main mission of landing with an accuracy of 100m.
“Lunar topography captured by the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 overlaid with images acquired by the SLIM navigation camera during the HV2 (second hovering) at an altitude of about 50m,” JAXA said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Japan used India’s Chandrayaan-2 to gather imagery that helped in choosing a landing spot for the spacecraft.
The collaboration between ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to deepen with the upcoming LUPEX mission, a joint India-Japan enterprise. However, before LUPEX comes to fruition, Jasa’s SLIM mission has already benefited from ISRO’s experiences.
