Are we about to find out the moon’s origin? Japan’s space agency says it may now have clues

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A Japan space agency official says an unmanned spacecraft that landed on the moon last month has captured and transmitted data analyzing 10 lunar rocks, a greater-than-expected achievement that could help provide clues about the origin of the moon. For four days, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, with its multi-band spectral camera that can study rock composition, worked on examining lunar rocks, said Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project manager Shinichiro Sakai on Wednesday. The lunar mission is Japan’s first. The spacecraft made a historic precision touchdown on Jan. 20.