Japan’s Moon Lander Survives Second Weekslong Lunar Night, Beating Predictions

An image taken by a Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) of a robotic moon rover called Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, on the moon. JAXA/Takara Tomy/Sony Group Corporation/Doshisha University via AP

TOKYO—Japan’s first moon lander responded to a signal from Earth, suggesting it has survived a second freezing weekslong lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Monday.

JAXA called the signal, received late Sunday night, a “miracle” because the probe was not designed to survive the lunar night, when temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius (minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit).