Japan’s SLIM spacecraft lands on moon, a first for the country

TOKYO — Japan on Saturday became the world’s fifth country to put a spacecraft on the moon, as the space agency said its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has made a soft landing on the lunar surface.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has attempted the landing of the probe dubbed “moon sniper” within 100 metres (328 feet) of target. It will take up to a month to verify if SLIM has achieved the precision goals, the agency has said.