LEV-1, which was released from the SLIM lander that touched down on the Moon, was confirmed to be transmitting, and is currently operating as designed. (Word to that effect was received from Moonshot Project Manager Yasuharu Kunii.)
By the way, did you know that LEV-1 has a license plate attached? “Moon 800 J5381” is a cute plate number, don’t you think? It has a local area designation of “Moon,” and the number “800” designates it as a special vehicle. A little too special in this case.
The “J” of course is for Japan, and you can find out about the 5381 by reading the following article.
According to Professor Yasuharu Kunii, at the time the license plate was created for a bit of fun, and something that could make a good story in the future. It certainly turned into a good story! Imagine being able to have fun while working like that… That’s somewhere we’d all like to be!
Dainichi Shimbun – opinion https://mainichi.jp/articles/20240115/ddm/001/070/102000c
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