Science News Roundup: Japan's SLIM spacecraft lands on moon, a first for the country; Japan's SLIM moon craft short on power after successful lunar landing

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Japan's SLIM spacecraft lands on moon, a first for the country Japan on Saturday became the world's fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon, as the space agency said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has made a soft landing on the lunar surface. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed the moon's surface at around 12:20 a.m.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Japan's SLIM spacecraft lands on moon, a first for the country

Japan on Saturday became the world's fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon, as the space agency said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has made a soft landing on the lunar surface. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has attempted the landing of the probe dubbed "moon sniper" within 100 metres (328 feet) of target. It will take up to a month to verify if SLIM has achieved the precision goals, the agency has said.

Japan's SLIM moon craft short on power after successful lunar landing

Japan on Saturday became the fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon, but solar power issues threatened to cut short the nation's mission to prove a "precision" landing technology and revitalise a space programme that has suffered setbacks. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed the moon's surface at around 12:20 a.m. (1520 GMT Friday), but its solar panels were not able to generate electricity, possibly because they are angled wrong.