Japan made history on Friday when the Lunar Sniper spacecraft landed exactly where the team had planned: in Shioli Crater. However, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported that the probe may have been in the right place, but it was pointing in the wrong direction. Since the ship’s solar panels were unable to capture the rays, the agency decided to put the ship into deep sleep.

The landing was successful on Friday (Saturday morning in Japan), making Japan only the fifth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. But the JAXA team quickly realized something was wrong. While the lander was online and communicating with Earth, its batteries were rapidly depleting. JAXA now reports that the solar panels face west, away from the sun.

The lunar sniper is more precisely known as the Intelligent Lander for Lunar Exploration (SLIM). This important mission used a new landing system that allowed the spacecraft to target a precise landing zone only 100 meters wide. Other landers need to operate with an accuracy of a few square kilometers.

SLIM solved this problem with a detailed map of the lunar surface. As it flew over terrain, the spacecraft’s cameras could map the landscape to a map in seconds. The entire process takes just five seconds, so SLIM could figure out where it was before passing the landing zone.

The lander’s batteries continued to drain several hours after landing, so JAXA decided to shut it down, leaving some in the tank. The team disconnected the battery at 12% charge to prevent overdischarge. It is hoped that as the angle of sunlight changes, the solar cells can recharge the battery and SLIM can be reactivated.

Even if we never hear from Moon Sniper again, he’s already made history. JAXA confirmed that the lander collected data about the environment as well as images of the lunar terrain. There are also detailed reports on the lander’s status that could help JAXA reactivate it later. The agency is reviewing the data as it evaluates how to proceed and promises an update later this week.

Returning to the moon turned out to be more difficult than many expected. JAXA’s modest success with SLIM is a welcome departure from a string of failures. Russia’s Luna 25 crashed last summer, and American company Astrobotic saw its Peregrine lander fail to even reach the moon earlier this month. Even NASA, which has a history of manned moon landings, is effectively starting from scratch after decades in low Earth orbit. Although SLIM was not a complete success, it is still a positive step for lunar exploration in the 21st century.