Data obtained before Japan switches off lunar probe

A lot of data had been obtained before Japan switched off the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM), after the spacecraft's solar cells failed to generate electricity upon its moon touchdown on Saturday, the country's space agency said Monday.

Before turning the unmanned probe off remotely, mission control was able to complete the transmission of technical and image data acquired during the descent and on the lunar surface, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement.

The spacecraft was switched off at 2:57 am Saturday local time, JAXA said, noting that the agency is now carrying out a detailed analysis of data acquired during the landing and will make further announcements this week on the results of the mission and the status of the SLIM craft.

"According to the telemetry data, SLIM's solar cells are facing west," JAXA added. "So we believe there is a possibility of power generation if sunlight hits the moon from the west in the future, and we're now preparing for restoration."

SLIM, dubbed the "moon sniper", landed on the moon at 12:20 am Saturday local time, but as its solar cells were not generating electricity, it was working on backup batteries which would only last for hours, according to JAXA.

The rocket carrying SLIM was launched on September 7 from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, in the country's third attempt at a lunar landing.