Japan will attempt to land on the moon TODAY – here you can watch its ‘Moon Sniper’ spacecraft navigate a ’20 minute terror’ descent

Japan’s Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) mission is now just hours away from attempting a dangerous landing on the moon’s surface.

If successful, Japan will become only the fifth country to land on the moon.

But after America’s first landing attempt in fifty years failed before even reaching the moon, the risk of failure is clear.

Japanese space agency JAXA hopes to tilt the odds in its favor by using precision navigation equipment, earning the mission the nickname ‘Moon Sniper’.

Unlike previous missions, which targeted areas more than a mile in diameter, the Japanese lander will attempt to land no further than 100 meters from its target.

Shortly after 00:00 Japan Standard Time (15:00 GMT), Slim begins its descent to the lunar surface.

The Slim is currently in orbit at an altitude of 15 kilometers and will take just 20 minutes to land.

However, Kushiki Kenji, sub-project manager of the SLIM mission, said: “The start of the delay to landing on the lunar surface is expected to be a breathless, numbing twenty minutes of terror!”

About half of all moon landing attempts ever attempted have failed, with landing being the riskiest moment.

To make matters even more difficult, JAXA is attempting a “soft landing,” meaning it wants to get the lander to the surface without damaging its equipment.

JAXA will also live stream the landing so you can watch the entire terrifying experience here.

Slim will attempt a challenging soft landing on a slope near Shioli Crater. To land safely, it will have to land within a range of 100 meters, a level of accuracy so high that the project has been nicknamed ‘Moon Sniper’.

As Slim is dragged down by the moon’s gravity, he will have to continuously fire his rockets to slow down just enough.

Last year, a lander launched by Japanese private company ISpace crashed into the moon when its onboard computer became confused about its altitude.

To ensure Slim doesn’t make the same mistake, JAXA has developed a system of ‘Smart Eyes’ that quickly processes photos of the surface to help guide the craft down.

By comparing the moon’s pockmarked surface with data collected by previous landers, Slim can navigate with a much greater degree of precision.

However, JAXA is not making it easy and has chosen a particularly dangerous landing site.

The lander was launched last September from Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. In addition to the Slim lander, the rocket also carried an X-ray satellite created jointly by NASA

The rocket (pictured) carried Slim to its lunar orbit, where the lander is currently at an altitude of 15 kilometers above the lunar surface

Mr Kenji said: ‘Lunar orbiters such as Kaguya, the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and India’s Chandrayaan missions have provided large amounts of high-resolution observational data of the lunar surface.

‘That’s why interest in lunar science and resource exploration has shifted from ‘somewhere on the moon’s surface’ to ‘that rock next to this particular crater’.’

Slim will attempt to land on a slope near Shioli’s equatorial crater, an area littered with debris that could topple the lander.

The craft will have to land precisely within its target zone to avoid a potentially catastrophic crash.

But the scientific benefits of such a landing could be great, as this part of the moon is suspected to have been formed by ancient volcanic activity.

JAXA said: ‘A closer look at such minerals could reveal information about the moon’s internal structure and formation.

Slim will attempt a two-stage landing, first descending vertically and using his image processing software to navigate downward. The lander will then turn on its side and attempt to land horizontally on its four legs. During this time, as shown in the diagram, Slim will also launch two micro-robots, LEV-1 and LEV-2

Slim isn’t supposed to last long on the moon, as the side of the crater will soon be plunged into darkness.

Out of reach of the sun, Slim’s solar panels will soon lose power and the lander will likely break down as temperatures drop.

However, JAXA has also sent two mini robots, which they hope will help collect vital data before time runs out.

One is a 2kg hopping robot that will throw itself over the rocky surface.

The other is a ball-shaped robot developed by Tomy, the same company that developed the Transformers toys.

The toy manufacturer has used the same transformation technology to make this micro drone change shape as it explores its environment.

The larger robot (left) is designed to ‘jump’ around the moon’s surface, while the smaller, spherical robot (right) is designed by the toy company behind the Transformers to change shape as it explores

Slim’s launch last September comes as a number of countries are ramping up their moon missions.

As part of this new space race, NASA has backed another private landing attempt, scheduled for later this year.

While the Peregrine lander, made by Astrobotics, suffered a fuel leak that made a landing impossible, NASA hopes this new venture from Intuitive Machines will be more successful.

In total, NASA has planned five moon landing attempts by private companies by 2024.

The American space agency is also pursuing its own goal with the Artemis program: a manned landing on the moon satellite.

However, NASA recently announced that it would delay the crewed landing of Artemis III until 2026, citing safety concerns.