$Intuitive Machines (LUNR.US)$ Japan's space agency said Mon...

$Intuitive Machines(LUNR.US)$ Japan's space agency said Monday that its SLIM lunar lander unexpectedly survived a freezing lunar night and re-established communication with Earth, more than a month after the spacecraft made a historic “spot” landing on the moon.

The intelligent lander for researching the Moon (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface last month, making Japan the fifth country to place a probe on the Moon. Odysseus, from US-based Intuitive Machines, did the same last week, as countries and companies race to the moon in search of resources and human habitability.

Soon after landing 55 m (180 ft) from its target, just south of the Moon's equator, SLIM ran out of power because it had flipped over and its solar panels were at the wrong angle.

Its solar panels recovered electricity more than a week later thanks to the change in the direction of sunlight. The operator, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, had previously said that the probe was not designed to survive a lunar night. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Edited by Kim Coghill)