A Japanese lunar lander, built by Ispace and carrying a UAE-built rover, lost contact shortly before it was expected to land on the Moon's surface, suggesting that it had crashed.
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, set to touch down on the lunar surface around 1:40 a.m. Japan time Wednesday, would have been the first such landing for a commercially-developed spacecraft.
- The lander was launched atop a SpaceX rocket from Florida in December, carrying the UAE's first lunar rover as well as payloads from NASA and JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
- Over three months, it traveled 870,000 miles to enter lunar orbit.
- On Tuesday, Ispace said the lander lost contact with ground controllers shortly before its final approach, suggesting it had made a "hard landing."
- The company has now concluded that the mission success is no longer achievable. It plans to examine the data and learn from the event to facilitate a "future successful lunar landing mission."
- Ispace has scheduled a Mission 2 launch in 2024 and Mission 3 in 2025.
