Tokyo - A Japanese private lunar lander, Hakuto-R Mission 1, unfortunately crashed during its landing attempt on the moon Friday. The lander, created by Tokyo-based company ispace, was aiming to be the first commercially developed spacecraft to successfully land on the lunar surface.
Telemetry data indicated that the lander was descending as planned until the final approach. Communication was then lost with mission control. Ispace confirmed the mission's failure during a live broadcast, stating that the lander likely experienced a hard landing.
The Hakuto-R lander carried several payloads, including a rover from the United Arab Emirates named Rashid. The mission aimed to gather data about the lunar surface and demonstrate ispace's capabilities for future lunar transportation services.
The failure underscores the difficulty of lunar landings, which require precise navigation and control. Several other commercial and government-led missions are planned for the coming years, aiming to explore the moon and potentially extract resources. Ispace has stated its commitment to continuing its lunar program and learning from the experience of this failed attempt.
Japanese Lunar Lander Fails in Moon Landing Attempt
A privately developed Japanese lunar lander crashed onto the moon's surface during its landing attempt on Friday. The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, built by the company ispace, lost contact with mission control shortly before the scheduled touchdown. This marks another setback in the growing commercial race to explore the moon, highlighting the challenges of lunar missions. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Source: Read the original article at NBC