Japan’s SLIM space probe entered the moon’s orbit Monday in a major step toward the country’s first successful lunar landing, expected next month, APA reports citing VoA.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” because it is designed to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar surface.
If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have successfully landed a probe on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.
On Monday, SLIM “successfully entered the moon’s orbit at 04:51 p.m. Japan time” (0751 GMT), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement released Monday evening.
“Its’ trajectory shift was achieved as originally planned, and there is nothing out of the ordinary about the probe’s conditions,” the agency said.
The lander’s descent toward the moon is expected to start around 12:00 a.m. Japan time on January 20, with its landing on the surface scheduled for 20 minutes later,
JAXA said.
The H-IIA rocket lifted off in September from the southern island of Tanegashima carrying the lander, after three postponements linked to bad weather.
JAXA said this month that the mission would be an “unprecedentedly high precision landing” on the moon.
Source: Azeri-Press News Agency
Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs of Azerbaijan Rovshan Rzayev met with former IDPs from Khojaly district who lost both parents and residents of Malibeyli village of Shusha district, the Committee told Trend.
Large-scale reconstruction and construction work is being carried out in Azerbaijan’s territories liberated from Armenian occupation by order of President Ilham Aliyev, and the return of IDPs is going full scale.
It was brought to attention that implementation of measures envisaged by the I State Program “Big Return” will allow reviving Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions, ensure sustainable settlement and employment of population in these territories, and it was noted that safe and dignified return of residents of Khojaly and Shusha to their native lands will start soon.
The Head of State keeps under personal control the progress of reconstruction and construction work in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation, creation of favorable living conditions for the r
eturning population. As of today, more than 4,500 former IDPs have returned to their native lands, and soon the process of “Great Return” will cover Khojaly and Shusha.
Residents of Khojaly and Shusha thanked the Head of State and Azerbaijani Armed Forces for full restoration of state sovereignty of Azerbaijan, honored the memory of Martyrs.
The Chairman of the State Committee also listened to the appeals of citizens who had pre-registered for the reception, answered their questions. Citizens’ appeals mainly concerned improvement of living conditions, public utilities, employment, return to Azerbaijan’s territories liberated from Armenian occupation and other issues.
The citizens were informed that their appeals and issues raised by them would be considered and solved in accordance with the legislation.
Source: Trend News Agency