Producer: Peuli Bakshi
Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), also known as the "Moon Sniper", achieved a successful touchdown on January 19, 2024, making Japan the fifth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon.
However, the mission is at risk of an early conclusion as the spacecraft's solar cell is not generating electricity.
NASA planned to send astronauts around the moon on the Artemis 3 lander, aiming to land the first woman and person of colour on lunar soil. The mission is set for 2026.
Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the moon's south pole, ISRO is gearing up for its inaugural crewed space flight in 2024- Gaganyaan mission. It is a 3-day trip into Earth's orbit.
After Russia severed ties with the West following their 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the setback of the Luna-25 mission in August 2023, President Vladimir Putin has been actively enhancing space collaboration with China to ensure a successful moon mission.
China is currently aiming to launch a crewed moon mission and establish a lunar base by 2030. In October 2023, the nation deployed a new team to its Tiangong space station, marking the crewed space program’s rapid advancement.