- Ispace, a Tokyo-based company, declared its private lunar lander mission a failure after losing communication with the lander during its attempted touchdown on the moon.
- Communication ceased less than two minutes before the scheduled landing, and a preliminary analysis suggests the laser system for measuring altitude malfunctioned, causing the lander to descend too fast.
- CEO Takeshi Hakamada apologised for the failed mission, which carried a rover with a shovel for lunar dirt collection and a Swedish artist’s toy-size red house.
- The mission, named Resilience, aimed for a flat area in Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) a long and narrow region full of craters that stretches across the near side’s northern tier.
- The lunar landing was part of a growing trend of private companies targeting the moon, with more failures than successes, including previous crashes by ispace and Intuitive Machines.
IN FULL
Private Japanese lunar lander crashes while attempting Moon touchdown
