Hitoshi Kuninaka, director general of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and vice-president of Jaxa, was just asked about what could be done to try to fix the solar panels.
He says: "The battery will last several more hours, those hours will be the remaining life of Slim" but they are trying to keep the "status quo".
Kuninaka says they don't want to do anything that is "too excessive" but there is still hope for Slim to generate electricity again, when the solar angle changes.
"The solar angle will change every month and the sunlight on the Moon will change.
"When the light from Earth shines from a different direction it could hit the solar cell, so we are considering this and we are hoping for Slim to regain power."
He summarised by saying even if the Slim battery runs out, and it catches the sun's light, it will restart.
A holidaymaker was today grappled into a headlock and violently marched off a Ryanair flight by police after a Luton-Lanzarote flight had to be diverted to Portugal because of his behaviour.
The man, thought to be British, was forcibly removed from the plane by a dozen Portuguese police officers as other passengers watched in astonishment.
A fellow passenger who filmed the shocking scenes at Faro airport told MailOnline: 'There was a group of men who appeared to have been drinking who were bothering some female passengers.
'When it started to get a bit out of hand one of the stewards tried to intercede and ended up somehow getting knocked over.
'At this point the captain gave a warning over the tannoy that unacceptable behaviour would not be tolerated and if it did not stop we would divert to Portugal.
'But the commotion didn't let up and 20 minutes later we were told on the tannoy we are landing in twenty minutes with no further info.
'The man fighting in the video originally got off voluntarily but for some reason then got back on and was then forcibly removed by the police who got him in a headlock.
'This man was one of several passengers who were removed,' the passenger said.
'It was quite shocking to see. We are all a bit shaken.'
Footage filmed inside the cabin showed several passengers with their phones out, watching in astonishment as the police drag the man down the aisle.
The man is seen struggling against the officers, prompting them to put him in a headlock in an attempt to subdue him.
Another officer is seen holding his arm ahead of him, dragging him to the exit.
Some of the passengers can be heard encouraging the officers and even cheering and clapping in the man's face, clearly eager for the disorderly man to be taken off the plane as quickly as possible.
'Bye bye mate!' one man is head shouting. A woman shouts 'Well done!'
Separate video shot out of the passenger window of the aircraft showed the man being marched by the large group of police officers over the tarmac.
Even then he appeared to be resisting before being bundled into a police car.
Another clip showed the larger group of people also standing on the tarmac haveing also been removed from the plane.
The Ryanair plane was heading from the UK to the Canary Islands when it was divered. There has not yet been any official comment from authorities in Portugal but one well-placed insider said all involved in the incident were British.
The plane left London's Luton airport at 8am and was due to reach Lanzarote at 12.15pm local time today.
However, it was diverted to Portugal airport instead and landed at Faro in Portugal's Algarve region at around 10.50am local time, with police boarding shortly after.
An email was despatched to passengers on the flight which read: 'We apologise that your flight, FR3511, from London Luton to Lanzarote on the 19-01-2024 was unexpectedly diverted to Faro.
'When we are forced to divert a flight, we immediately begin planning your onward journey from the airport you diverted to. If your flight is diverted and is scheduled to continue from there, we will work to keep this delay as minimal as possible.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state once the conflict in Gaza comes to an end.
In a news conference, a defiant Mr Netanyahu vowed to press on with the offensive in Gaza "until complete victory": the destruction of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages, adding that it could take "many more months".
With almost 25,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and 85% of the Strip's population displaced, Israel is under intense pressure to rein in its offensive and engage in meaningful talks over a sustainable end to the war.
Israel's allies, including the US - and many of its foes - have urged a revival of the long-dormant "two-state solution", in which a future Palestinian state would sit side-by-side with an Israeli one.
The hope in many circles is that the current crisis could force the warring parties back to diplomacy, as the only viable alternative to endless cycles of violence. But from Mr Netanyahu's comments, his intention appears quite the opposite.
Speaking to reporters following Mr Netanyahu's latest comments, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby recognised that the US and Israel "obviously" see things differently.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state.
"This is a necessary condition, and it conflicts with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What to do? I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel's security," he said.
Mr Netanyahu has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood, boasting just last month that he was proud to have prevented its establishment, so his latest remarks come as no surprise.
But the very public rebuttal of Washington's diplomatic push, and determination to stay the current military course, show the chasm widening with Israel's western allies.
Since the 7 October attacks - the worst in Israel's history, when Hamas gunmen killed about 1,300 Israelis and took some 240 hostage - the US has supported its right to defend itself.
But as the death toll in Gaza has grown, and the scenes of horror there have abounded, Western governments have called for Israeli restraint.
The White House has repeatedly tried to influence Israel's military policy: urging more precision-guided weapons rather than the blanket air strikes; discouraging a ground offensive; and calling for a two-state solution, with a role for the Palestinian Authority in post-conflict Gaza.
Reuters
Mr Kirby said the US has been "exceedingly clear" about what it wants Gaza to look like after the war.
"We want governance in Gaza that's representative of the aspirations of the Palestinian people, that they have a vote and a voice in what that looks like and that there's no reoccupation of Gaza," he said.
Washington's advice has frequently fallen on deaf ears or been met by outright rejection - often publicly so, during visits by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
That, in turn, has hardened frustration in some American circles over the Biden administration's apparent blanket support for Israel, with strident calls to put conditions on US aid to its Middle East ally.
Israel's prime minister's comments will please his dwindling support base and the far-right ministers who prop up his government.
But they will dismay those at home and abroad who are increasingly horrified by the human cost of this war. Recent polls show most Israelis want him to prioritise bringing the remaining hostages home over the potentially impossible aim of destroying Hamas.
Ukraine’s US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles disabled one of Russia’s most advanced tanks, peppering its armour with projectiles before it smashed into a tree.
Drone footage released by Ukraine’s 47th Mechanised Brigade claims to show the Russian T-90 coming under heavy fire from close range in the Donetsk town of Stepove.
The tank appeared to take multiple hits during the Ukrainian salvo, with each direct strike letting off a bright flash as it hit the Russian fighting machine’s armour.
Earlier footage of the clash appeared to show the T-90 losing control, its turret spinning in a frenzy, before hitting a tree.
A Ukrainian first person view (FPV) attack drone was then dispatched to finish off the tank and its crew eventually fled on foot.
It was later claimed that two of the fleeing crew were killed in action and a third captured by Ukrainian forces.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the battle demonstrated that “infantry fighting vehicles can successfully engage and seriously damage modern main battle tanks”.
The T-90 is one of the newest and most advanced tanks being used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Despite eventually being overwhelmed by the Bradley’s 25mm cannon fire, it displayed greater resilience than other Russian tanks that have been destroyed by Ukrainian forces.
Videos have been shared on social media showing the turrets of older Russian tanks being sent skywards after the ammunition stored in the hull exploded following a direct hit.
Mr Lee added: “That T-90M took 20 + 25mm rounds to its frontal armour and an FPV strike, and the entire crew survived.
“An IFV [infantry fighting vehicle] or APC [armoured personnel carrier] would not have been as lucky.”
The T-90’s survivability appears to match that of the British Challenge 2 and German Leopard 2 tanks which have been donated to Ukraine.
While both Nato-standard tanks have been disabled on the battlefield in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have not lost a single crew member in any attack.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former Challenger 2 commander, said the T-90 had likely succumbed to a Bradley because Russia still favours firepower and mobility over heavier, more protective armour.
“It shows just how vulnerable Russian tanks are because protection comes a distant third to firepower and mobility,” he said.
Mr de Bretton-Gordon also suggested the Russian tank could have come into difficulty because it was manned by an ill-prepared crew.
Russia has lost 6,147 tanks since the start of the war, according to estimates by Ukraine’s General Staff.
“They might be getting enough tanks back on track but they just can’t come up with the trained crews, which is proving a real problem for Russia,” Mr de Bretton-Gordon said.
American Bradleys were initially handed to Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, along with German Leopard 2 tanks, to spearhead the spring-summer counter-offensive last year.
The vehicles offered superior protection but became trapped in vast minefields, causing the offensive to largely fail. Around a third of the 50 donated by Washington were lost in the initial thrust.
While many were destroyed, the vehicles were credited with saving their crews’ lives in drone and artillery attacks, thanks to the Western armour fitted to them.
‘David versus Goliath’
Kyiv’s best-equipped brigade was eventually withdrawn from the fight in October to help defend the embattled Donetsk region town of Avdiivka, near to Steptove.
The Bradleys’ fight with the T-90 was billed as a “David versus Goliath” by Mr de Bretton-Gordon, one which should come as encouragement for the vehicles’ users now it has been battle tested against a Russian tank.
The American-made vehicles are known for their prowess in “hunter-killer” engagements with larger armoured machines.
In drone footage of the Stepove clash, its mobility is demonstrated as it continuously moves to dodge incoming fire while unloading a salvo with its primary M242 25mm automatic cannon weapon.
Meanwhile, the Russian tank stood largely still, taking continuous fire and failing to hit back with its own 125mm stabilised gun.
For even inexperienced war-fighters, an immobile tank, sometimes described as acting as a “pillbox”, is often an easy target.
Mr de Bretton-Gordon said the lack of movement from the Russian tank was likely down to its inexperienced crew becoming flustered under pressure.
On fourth day of strikes, the US military says it targeted 14 Houthi missiles that were ‘loaded to be fired’ from Yemen.
The United States military says its forces launched strikes on 14 Houthi missiles “that were loaded to be fired” from Yemen in the fourth day of direct attacks on the Iran-aligned group in less than a week.
The missiles posed a threat to commercial ships and US Navy vessels in the region, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday.
The group, which controls most of Yemen and has been attacking ships in the region since November, said it will not stop its strikes on shipping routes despite increasing assaults by the US military.
“We will not give up targeting Israeli ships or ships heading towards ports in occupied Palestine … in support of the Palestinian people,” the group’s spokesperson, Mohammed Abdelsalam, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“These missiles on launch rails … could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” CENTCOM said on X.
The strikes are meant to degrade the Houthis’ “capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden”, it added.
U.S. CENTCOM Strikes Houthi Terrorist Missile Launchers
In the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on U.S. and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central… pic.twitter.com/MMCQbzr1f7
The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said the US and the United Kingdom launched the strikes in the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Dhamar, al-Bayda and Saada overnight. However, CENTCOM did not mention any involvement of the UK in the latest attacks.
“It is an open war, and they must endure the earth-shattering, powerful, and crushing strikes and responses, God willing,” Houthi official Ali al-Qahoum wrote on X after the latest strikes.
The Houthis said the designation will not affect its operations to prevent Israeli ships or vessels heading to Israel from crossing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis, who support the Palestinian armed group Hamas, launched their attacks in response to Israel’s war on Gaza. Their strikes have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major world powers.
Earlier on Wednesday, CENTCOM said a drone launched from areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen struck the US-owned ship Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden. It inflicted some damage, but no injuries, it said.
