A probe inspired by robot toys aboard the Japanese lunar mission

2024-01-19 08:05:00

The fate of this mini-exploring probe hangs on that of its transporter, SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon), a small machine that the Japanese space exploration agency Jaxa intends to land on the moon with a high degree of precision in a few hours

A success of this mission, nicknamed “Moon Sniper” by Jaxa, would be historic for Japan, which would become the fifth country to succeed in landing on the Moon, following the United States, the USSR, China and the India.

Barely larger than a tennis ball and weighing only 250 grams, SORA-Q, SLIM’s exploratory probe, was co-developed by Jaxa and Takara Tomy, a large Japanese toy manufacturer behind the famous robots. “Transformers” launched in 1984.

SORA-Q includes two cameras, one that emerges at the front when its metal shell opens in two, and a second at the rear.

Once the sphere is open, its two ends serve as wheels to move in a rocking manner on an uneven surface.

The probe has two modes of movement: the “butterfly”, where its two wheels roll in concert, and the “crawl”, where they advance out of sync.

“Sora” means “universe” in Japanese, while the letter Q refers to the words “question” and “quest,” the probe’s designers explain.

Its cameras should transmit precious images of Shioli, the small crater where SLIM is due to land, and on which rocks emanating from the internal structure of the Moon, which is still poorly understood, are exposed.

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