Japan’s moon lander wasn’t built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It’s still going after 3

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Wednesday that the lunar probe had responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night. Temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius during a lunar night, and rise to around 100 Celsius during a lunar day. The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM reached the lunar surface on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon.