“During this process, we will focus on checking the status of some equipment by turning on the switch and testing the payload. Although there are some problems in some functions of the multi-frequency camera, the equipment is still operational, so we are thoroughly checking the condition of the equipment,” JAXA said.

The SLIM spacecraft landed on the Moon last January, making Japan the fifth country in the world to have a spacecraft land gently on Earth’s only natural satellite, after the former Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.

SLIM landed at an angle that caused its solar panels to face the wrong way and thus not be able to collect energy optimally. However, despite pessimistic predictions, the 200-kilogram probe achieved the feat of reviving twice after experiencing cold lunar nights of -183 degrees Celsius and -130 degrees Celsius, respectively. A lunar night lasts about 14 Earth days. JAXA previously said that SLIM was not designed for such harsh lunar nights.

So far, SLIM has achieved the basic goals of the mission, including landing accurately, deploying two small rovers, conducting a series of scientific experiments and transmitting images from the Moon to Earth.

JAXA said SLIM’s multi-frequency camera will look for a mineral called “Olivine” on the lunar surface, and then analyze its composition. Comparing this mineral with mineral samples found on Earth will help provide evidence for the Big Bang hypothesis, according to which the Moon was formed by the Earth colliding with another planet about 4.6 billion years ago.