29.09.2023

The spacecraft also made a maneuver to raise its orbit around our planet.

Earth, as photographed by Japan's SLIM moon lander. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency posted this photo on X on Sept. 21, 2023. (Image credit: JAXA/SLIM mission)

Japan's SLIM lunar lander has sent back an eerie image of Earth as a test of the camera it will use to help it land accurately on the moon.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) launched on an H-2A rocket on Sept. 6. It has already passed its first critical phase in Earth orbit by completing a series of systems tests, according to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Now, SLIM has imaged Earth, showing our planet half-shrouded in shadow in the vast expanse of space. The photo was a test of the camera system that will help SLIM determine its position during its descent onto the moon.

The image, which JAXA posted Sept. 21 via its SLIM account on X (formerly known as Twitter), was taken around 62,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) from Earth. The image is monochromatic, as the dual-camera, vision-based navigation system is designed to identify crater positions from data stored aboard the spacecraft.

JAXA's SLIM account also posted an image showing Japan — central on the sphere, just outside the shadow of night — and the location of the distant, barely visible moon, its ultimate target.

And, to that end, SLIM is now taking its next steps on its long, looping voyage to the moon. SLIM, also known as "moon sniper," performed a second adjustment maneuver at 0100 GMT (10:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time) on Sept. 26.