The Hill reports that Tokyo-based ispace “confirmed Wednesday that its HAKUTO-R spacecraft, which was scheduled to make a historic lunar landing on Tuesday, likely crashed into the Moon’s surface.” The lander entered the moon’s orbit on March 21 and prepared to land on the lunar surface. However, during the lander’s descent, ground control lost communication with the craft, and the team “determined it was in a vertical position as it approached the lunar surface, however, no data was ever received that indicated a successful touchdown.” Company officials released a statement that reads, “Based on the data, it has been determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing on the moon’s surface.”
Full Story (The Hill)
Tag: Ispace
Japan’s Resilience Lander Set for Lunar Flyby
SPACE reports, “The second lunar lander from Japanese space exploration company ispace is ready for a flyby of the moon as part of its elongated moon landing journey. ispace’s Resilience lander launched on Jan. 15 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander. It is taking an energy-efficient, circuitous route to the moon, and only last week performed a crucial maneuver to raise its orbit and set up the lunar flyby.”
Full Story (SPACE)