Japan’s private moon lander, Resilience, has provided a stunning photo of the moon’s south polar region just two weeks before its historic touchdown attempt. The Tokyo-based company ispace shared the image on X, which was captured by the probe in lunar orbit.
The photo shows the rough terrain of the lunar surface, featuring concave craters that may appear convex to the eye due to the orientation of the image. Resilience launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and arrived in lunar orbit on May 6 after a longer, looping route.
Resilience is scheduled to land on June 5 in Mare Frigoris, a volcanic plain in the moon’s northern hemisphere. The mission would mark Japan’s second-ever moon landing, following its successful SLIM spacecraft in January 2024. Resilience carries five science and technology payloads, including a miniature rover named Tenacious that will attempt to collect moon dirt under a NASA contract.
The rover is also equipped with art, including a piece called “Moonhouse” by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. This marks the first time an art project has been carried on a NASA mission. Resilience’s successful touchdown would be a significant milestone for Japan and its space program.
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/private-japanese-moon-probe-snaps-photo-of-lunar-south-pole-ahead-of-june-5-landing