Author: SM0TGU

Re-published from ANS-035

A rendering of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface. [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, image]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed their Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on January 19, 2024. Just before touchdown, SLIM released two small lunar surface probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2.

LEV-2 collects data while moving on the lunar surface, and LEV-1 receives the data.

The JAXA Ham Radio Club (JHRC), JQ1ZVI, secured amateur radio license JS1YMG for LEV-1, which has been transmitting Morse code on 437.41 MHz since January 19. The probe uses a 1 W UHF antenna with circular polarization and is transmitting “matters related to amateur business.”

Radio amateurs have been busy analyzing JS1YMG’s signal, with Daniel Estévez’s, EA4GPZ, blog introducing the method and extraction results for demodulating Morse code from the signal, as well as extracting the code string.

It’s unclear how long signals will be heard. JAXA has said that SLIM was not designed to survive a lunar night, which lasts about 14 days, and is due to return in a few days.

SLIM was launched on September 6, 2023, and landed on January 19, 2024, with the mission of analyzing the composition of rocks to aid research about the origin of the moon. SLIM’s landing made Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon. The landing was achieved with exceptional precision — within 180 feet of its targeted touchdown location.

[ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information]

Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Amateur Telemetry Received

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed on January 20, 2024, that the Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1), a small robot deployed from the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), successfully conducted activities on the lunar surface. The telemetry data were sent directly from the small robot.

According to telemetry data, after deployment from SLIM, LEV-1 executed planned leaping movements and direct communication with ground stations, including inter-robot test radio wave data transmission from the Transformable Lunar Robot (LEV-2, nicknamed “SORA-Q”). On the other hand, image acquisition on the lunar surface has not been confirmed as of now.

Currently, LEV-1 has completed its planned operational period on the lunar surface, depleted its designated power, and is in a standby state on the lunar surface. While the capability to resume activity exists contingent on solar power generation from changes in the direction of the sun, efforts will be maintained to continue receiving signals from LEV-1.

Both LEV-1 and LEV-2 have become Japan’s first lunar exploration robots. Additionally, the small LEV-1 with a mass of 2.1 kg (including a 90g communication device), achieved successful direct communication with Earth from the moon. This is considered as the world’s smallest and lightest case of direct data transmission from approximately 380,000 kilometers away.

Furthermore, the accomplishment of LEV-1’s leaping movements on the lunar surface, inter-robot communication between LEV-1 and LEV-2, and fully autonomous operations represent groundbreaking achievement. It would be regarded as a valuable technology demonstration for future lunar explorations, and the acquired knowledge and experience will be applied in upcoming missions.

Moreover, the transmission of UHF band radio waves from LEV-1 as part of outreach efforts has encouraged participation from amateur radio operators globally, and we have been receiving reports of successful signal receptions. This initiative provided an opportunity for the public to be directly engaged in lunar exploration missions. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the LEV-1 mission.

LEV-1 has an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) coordinated downlink frequency of 437.410 MHz. A detailed report on receiving and decoding LEV-1 telemetry has been prepared by Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM. It can be found at https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/  An earlier summary of LEV-1 design and specifications is at https://robotics.isas.jaxa.jp/lev/LEV_HAM_Club.html.

[ANS thanks the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ/M0HXM, for the above information]

Update 2024-02-02

Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency

Moments ago, the AMSAT News Service received the following announcement from AMSAT Italia regarding IO-117 (GreenCube):

AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.

Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.

The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.

IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.

At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.

AMSAT Italia BoD

[ANS thanks AMSAT Italia for the above information]

—

Re-published from ANS-025:

We were saddened to learn this morning that S5Lab plans to decommission IO-117 (GreenCube) and execute a passivation operation on February 5, 2024. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. This afternoon, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, sent the following letter to S5Lab expressing our desire to provide any support we can to keep the satellite in operation.

January 25, 2024

Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory (S5Lab)
Sapienza University of Rome
Via Email

To The GreenCube Team:

Over the past 13+ months, amateur satellite operators around the world have enjoyed the use of the digipeater on GreenCube (IO-117). As amateur radio’s first satellite in a medium earth orbit (MEO), it has opened worldwide long-distance contacts via amateur radio satellite that had not been possible since the loss of AMSAT-OSCAR 40 in 2004. As this letter is being written, a DXpedition to Clipperton Island in the Pacific Ocean has made contact with several hundred amateur operators around the world – the first activation of this rare location on amateur satellite in over 30 years. AMSAT and the amateur satellite community greatly appreciate your team making this wonderful resource available.

Not only has this satellite been a great resource to the amateur community, but the amateur community has also assisted GreenCube’s mission by uploading millions of frames of data received – including much data from when the satellite is not within the primary ground station’s footprint.

Launches above low earth orbit are rarely available for amateur satellite missions. Since the first amateur radio satellite launched in 1962, fewer than ten have gone to orbits beyond LEO and only QO-100 (available to only part of the world) and IO-117 remain in service.

Due to the unique orbit and capabilities, we request that S5Lab postpone the scheduled passivation operation and keep the satellite’s digipeater in service. Amateur satellites have a long tradition of extended lifetimes. Amateur radio operators still utilize AMSAT-OSCAR 7 – launched nearly fifty years ago in 1974 – for communications on a daily basis. Many other amateur radio satellites have been actively used for ten to twenty years. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our 55 years of experience in managing amateur radio satellites and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping GreenCube in service for as long as possible.

Sincerely,

Robert Bankston, KE4AL
President
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

A PDF copy of this letter can be found at https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Letter-from-AMSAT-to-S5Lab-25-Jan-2024.pdf

[ANS thanks AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information]