However, due to an engine problem during the last few meters of the descent, SLIM landed at an angle that prevented the west-facing photovoltaic cells from receiving adequate sunlight. After an initial period of inactivity of about ten days, the probe was placed into hibernation, surviving the first lunar night, and returned to hibernation in early March. The last contact with Earth occurred on April 28.

SLIM landed in a small crater called Shioli, less than 300 meters in diameter. Before being turned off, the probe managed to release two mini-rovers to explore the rocks of the Moon's internal structure (the lunar mantle), a field that is still poorly understood.