The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced today, Monday, that the lunar lander "SLIM" unexpectedly survived a freezing lunar night and re-established contact with Earth, more than a month after the spacecraft's historic "precise" landing on the moon. The smart lunar exploration lander (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface last month, making Japan the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. Last week, the U.S.-based company Intuitive Machines, through its subsidiary Odesius, followed suit, as nations and companies race to reach the moon in search of resources and its suitability for human habitation.
Shortly after landing about 55 meters from its target just south of the lunar equator, the spacecraft ran out of power as it flipped, causing its solar panels to be positioned incorrectly. The solar panels regained power after more than a week due to a change in the direction of sunlight. The Japanese space agency had previously stated that the spacecraft was not designed to survive a lunar night.