[SFDXA] The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon, JS1YMG, is Now Transmitting - The ARRL Letter for February 1, 2024

[Bill]

The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon, JS1YMG, is Now Transmitting

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.

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

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 
<https://destevez.net/2024/01/trying-to-decode-lev-1/> 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.
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