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                           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.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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