Japan's Moon lander has survived the harsh lunar night

Japan's Moon lander has survived the harsh lunar night, the sunless and freezing equivalent to two Earth weeks.

"Last night, a command was sent to #SLIM​ and a response received," national space agency Jaxa said on X.

The craft was put into sleep mode after an awkward landing in January left its solar panels facing the wrong way and unable to generate power.

A change in sunlight direction later allowed it to send pictures back but it shut down again as lunar night fell.

Jaxa said at the time that Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) was not designed for the harsh lunar nights.