Japan starts precision landing of ‘moon sniper’ SLIM spacecraft

Japan gave the green light for its spacecraft to make a "precision" landing on the Moon on Friday, its bid to become the world's fifth country to achieve a moonshot and revitalise a space programme that has suffered a wave of recent setbacks.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was en route to 15 km (9 miles) above the Moon's surface, where it will start an autonomous 20-minute descent from midnight on Saturday (1500 GMT Friday).

Dubbed the "Moon sniper", SLIM is attempting to land within 100 metres (328 feet) of its target, versus the conventional accuracy of several kilometres.