Key Points
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, came down onto the lunar surface at around 12:20 a.m..
SLIM, nicknamed "the Moon Sniper," started its descent at midnight Saturday, and within 15 minutes it was down to about 10 kilometers (six miles) above the lunar surface, according to the space agency, which is known as JAXA..
At an altitude of five kilometers (three miles), the lander was in a vertical descent mode, then at 50 meters (165 feet) above the surface, SLIM was supposed to make a parallel movement to find a safe landing spot, JAXA said..
The mission's main goal is to test new landing technology that would allow moon missions to land where we want to, rather than where it is easy to land," JAXA has said..
Experts say a success of SLIM's pinpoint landing, especially on the moon, would raise Japan's profile in the global space technology race..
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