Japan's Smart Lander Snipper for Investigating Moon (Slim) spacecraft successfully touched down on the lunar surface on Friday(19-01-2024), making Japan the fifth nation to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed the landing of the spacecraft equipped with a variety of instruments, including a camera, a laser altimeter, and a magnetometer, which will be used to study the Moon's geology, environment, and resources.

However, Slim’s solar panel had failed to generate power, which could shorten its activity on the moon, the Japanese space agency said.