“Send humans to the moon within the next 10 years and safely return them to Earth.” This is a paragraph from a speech given by US President John F. KENNEDY in 1961. Those words became a reality with the success of the Apollo program and marked a significant step in the history of human space exploration. Times are advancing, and technology continues to evolve. On January 20, 2024, JAXA, Japan’s leading aerospace development agency, successfully carried out a groundbreaking mission with the unmanned probe “SLIM.” It achieved not only a landing on the lunar surface but also a “pinpoint landing” at a predetermined location. On the moon, there are about 15 recognized flat areas called “sea” on the facing side alone. This time, SLIM aimed for a crater near the “Mare Nectaris.” This crater was named “Shiori (Bookmark)” to serve as a bookmark sandwiched between the chapters of humanity’s space exploration story. With pinpoint landing technology, scientists can investigate more specific locations. Lunar landing is an ongoing challenge, with yet unseen pages awaiting beyond. (From April issue, 2024 / 2024年4月号より)