Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Tue Jan 30 2024 00:34:36

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 January 30
   The lunar surface is shown with a box-like gold-colored machine in the
    middle. A close inspection of the machine reveals that its thrusters
    are at the top, so it is on its side. The background sky is dark. Two
   horizontal lines are an artifact of the digital imaging and not part of
      the lunar landscape. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                           SLIM Lands on the Moon
     Image Credit & Copyright: JAXA, Takara Tomy, Sony Co., Doshisha U.

   Explanation: New landers are on the Moon. Nearly two weeks ago, Japan's
   Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) released two rovers as it
   descended, before its main lander touched down itself. The larger of
   the two rovers can hop like a frog, while the smaller rover is about
   the size of a baseball and can move after pulling itself apart like a
   transformer. The main lander, nicknamed Moon Sniper, is seen in the
   featured image taken by the smaller rover. Inspection of the image
   shows that Moon Sniper's thrusters are facing up, meaning that the
   lander is upside down from its descent configuration and on its side
   from its intended landing configuration. One result is that Moon
   Sniper's solar panels are not in the expected orientation, so that
   powering the lander had to be curtailed and adapted. SLIM's lander has
   already succeeded as a technology demonstration, its main mission, but
   was not designed to withstand the lunar night -- which starts tomorrow.

                      Tomorrow's picture: orion rising
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn; Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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