Lunar Landings Test Spacecraft Operators’ Mettle

SLIM lander on Moon

Japan’s SLIM lander, tipped on its side, photographed by one of its accompanying miniature lunar surface robots.

Credit: JAXA/Takara Tomy/Sony Group Corp./Doshisha University
Science fiction author Robert Heinlein’s novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is about the struggles of a lunar colony, but the title has become apropos for just trying to land there. The latest challenges undertaken by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)...
Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

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