Japan's ispace Moon landing Live: Resilience spacecraft to begin descent shortly
'I am very proud to announce that once again, on June 6, 2025, JST, ispace will attempt a historic landing on the Moon as part of Mission 2. Our goal is to build the cislunar economy, one in which the Moon and Earth are economically and socially connected. We view the success of the lunar landing as merely a steppingstone toward that goal. We strongly believe that this endeavor and its long-term success will contribute to making life on Earth sustainable for all humanity," Takeshi Hakamada, ispace Founder & CEO said.
Resilience has travelled approximately 1.1 million kilometres to get to the Moon. That's more than three times the distance between Earth and the Moon. "After months of preparation and precision flying, the final hour is here. ispace crew in Japan and Luxembourg are ready," says isapce.
The Resilience spacecraft will perform a short-duration de-orbit insertion burn to bring it closer to the lunar surface before landing sequence begins.
The Resilience spacecraft also carries a 5 kg rover, named Tenacious, in the payload bay at the top of the lander, with a deployment device to set the rover on the lunar surface. The rover is 26 cm tall, 31.5 cm wide, and 54 cm long. It is built of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics. It has a forward mounted HD camera. Communications with the ground will be transmitted through the lander. A shovel mounted on front of the rover will be used to collect a lunar sample, which will be photographed by the HD camera.
The decision to target Mare Frigoris is strategic. Unlike the rugged Atlas crater, where ispace's first lander crashed, Mare Frigoris offers a flatter, more navigable terrain, which increases the chances of a safe landing.
According to ispace, the site was chosen for its 'flexibility,' providing a broad, relatively smooth area that is less risky for touchdown. Additionally, the location offers extended periods of sunlight and uninterrupted communication with Earth—two critical factors for the lander's operations and the success of its scientific payloads.
Landing in Mare Frigoris also represents a milestone in lunar exploration, as it would be the most northerly landing ever attempted on the Moon.
The spacecraft will attempt a brave landing at a site called Mare Frigoris, or the 'Sea of Cold.'
Mare Frigoris is a vast, dark basaltic plain in the Moon's northern hemisphere, stretching over 1,400 kilometers in diameter.
Its Latin name translates to 'Sea of Cold,' reflecting its location in the Moon's far north, just above the prominent Mare Imbrium and east of Mare Serenitatis.
The region is geologically significant, with surface materials dating back to different lunar epochs, making it a target of interest for scientific study.
Resilience (Hakuto Mission 2) is an ispace (Japan) lunar lander and rover mission planned as a follow-on to the 2022 Mission 1. The mission launched on 15 January 2025 on a Falcon 9 booster from Cape Canaveral, along with the CLPS Blue Ghost mission.
It separated and deployed successfully approximately 90 minutes after launch. It reached the Moon after a 4 month low-energy trajectory involving a lunar flyby.
It went into lunar orbit May 6.
The Resilience spacecraft is currently in an orbit just 100 kilometres above the Moon. The spacecraft has been slowly lowering its orbit since its insertion into the lunar orbit just a few days ago.
Japan's ispace mission control team will shortly begin the landing sequence to initiate the descent procedure for the spacecraft.
2 hours until we attempt our second lunar landing.
Our next dose of mission trivia: The Deep Space Radiation Probe (DSRP) from National Central University, Taiwan, is hitching a ride to the Moon.
Its job? Measure radiation levels and detect cosmic disturbances en route.… pic.twitter.com/zQB0uEr7mw
— ispace (@ispace_inc) June 5, 2025
Welcome to the India Today LIVE Blog as we bring you all the real-time updates from the Moon this time.
Yes, you read that right. Moon!!
Japan's private company ispace is all set to attempt a daring landing attempt on the Moon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
a day ago
- India Today
Ampere, the Paris professor who turned a needle's twitch into a new science
It was a quiet September afternoon in Paris, 1820, when news from Denmark's Copenhagen reached Andre-Marie Ampere in Paris where he was teaching at cole Polytechnique. Hans Christian Orsted, a Danish physicist, had made a strange observation during a lecture back in April: a magnetic needle shifted direction when placed near a wire carrying electric of just being impressed, Ampere lit up. He rushed back to his laboratory at the College de France, repeated the experiment with his own voltaic pile, and took note of deeper implicationsadvertisementWithin days, he was in front of the French Academy of Sciences, not only confirming Orsted's effect but showing something even bigger: electric currents could create not just magnetic fields, but movement. They could generate motion, forces, patterns -- an entirely new branch of physics. That lightning-rod moment became the heart of electrodynamics -- what we now call it wasn't a fluke. Ampere had spent years quietly battling personal loss, grief, isolation, and the aftermath of the French Revolution. The language of physics and mathematics had become his lifelines. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) A LIFE SHAPED BY LOSS AND LEARNINGBorn on January 20, 1775, in Lyon, France, Ampere grew up in a home full of books. His father, a devout follower of philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, allowed him to learn was solving calculus problems in Latin by age 13. But tragedy shaped him -- his father was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and later in life, he lost his wife losses haunted him. Yet, instead of folding inwards, he turned to science and faith for FORMAL SCHOOLING, BUT AN INSATIABLE MINDAmpere never attended a formal university as a student. He was largely self-taught, devouring mathematics, Latin, philosophy, and natural sciences from books in his father's library. (figures from the Memoirs on Electromagnetism and Electrodynamics) (Photos: Wikimedia Commons) Eventually, he secured a teaching post at the Collge de France and later became a professor at the cole Polytechnique in Paris, which is where he had his revolutionary BIG IDEA: CURRENTS CREATE FORCESIn 1820, building on Orsted's experiment, Ampere proposed that two parallel wires carrying electric currents attract or repel each other, depending on the direction of idea, now known as Ampere's force law, gave the world the first mathematical description of how electricity and magnetism are related. He didn't stop there. Ampere laid out an entire theory of electromagnetism, introducing concepts like the electric current loop and how it produces a magnetic field, which became the basis for modern electromagnet HE'S CALLED THE FATHER OF ELECTROMAGNETISMAmpere gave the science a structure. He even coined the term electrodynamics. His careful mathematical work paved the way for later scientists like James Clerk Maxwell to create a unified theory of his honour, the unit of electric current -- the Ampere -- bears his name. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) AMPERE'S PERSONAL LIFEDespite his scientific genius, Andr-Marie Ampre's life outside the lab was marked by hardship and quiet resilience. Ampere married Julie Carron in 1799, and they had a son, Jean-Jacques just four years into their marriage, Julie died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving Ampere death deeply affected him, and those close to him said he never fully recovered. Much like what happened when his father died, he turned inward, pouring himself into his research while raising their son modest man, Ampre avoided the spotlight and lived simply, even as his ideas lit up Europe's scientific community. He remained deeply religious all his life, often turning to faith during moments of grief and uncertainty. Ampere and his son are buried in Paris His son, Jean-Jacques, grew up to become a respected historian and literary scholar, and eventually became a member of the prestigious Acadmie Franaise, carrying forward the Ampere name in the world of letters, while his father had already immortalised it in DEATH AND LEGACYAndre-Marie Ampere died on June 10, 1836, in Marseille, France, while on a scientific inspection tour. He was he is buried in Paris's Montmartre Cemetery. His legacy? Every time an electric current flows -- from your phone charger to a massive power grid -- Ampere's equations are at work.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
3 days ago
- First Post
Real or fake? How to decode a smile in seconds
From uncomfortable family portraits to forced workplace smiles, our brains often sense something's off before we can explain why. The reason lies in a mix of facial anatomy, brain function and emotional truth. Both genuine and fake smiles rely on cranial nerve VII, the facial nerve, which carries signals from the brain to facial muscles. So the next time you are trying to read someone's expression, do not focus only on the mouth. Watch the eyes. The orbicularis oculi rarely lies read more Even professional actors must tap into real memories or method techniques to produce them convincingly. Pixabay/Representational Image You've probably heard the claim that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. It's usually framed as a feel-good reason to turn your frown upside down – less effort, more joy. But anatomically, the numbers don't quite add up. We've all seen it – the smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes. From awkward family photos to strained workplace pleasantries, our brains often detect that something is off long before we consciously realise why. But what is it about a smile that makes it feel sincere - or fake? The answer lies in a surprising blend of facial anatomy, neurology and emotional authenticity. Not all smiles are created equal, and anatomically speaking, there are at least two distinct kinds: the Duchenne smile, which reflects genuine happiness, and the non-Duchenne smile, which tends to be more social or strategic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Named after 19th-century French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne de Boulogne, the Duchenne smile activates two key muscle groups. The first group is associated with the corners of the mouth – where, for example, the risorius (from the Latin to smile) draws the corners outward and the zygomaticus major muscle lifts them. Both real and fake smiles depend on cranial nerve VII, also known as the facial nerve. Pixabay/Representational Image The second, and most telling, muscle is the orbicularis oculi, which tightens the muscles around the eyes, producing the familiar 'crow's feet' and the gentle narrowing we associate with warmth and delight. Fake or polite smiles, on the other hand, usually involve only the mouth muscles. The eyes remain wide or indifferent, and the smile appears more mechanical than meaningful – a kind of emotional camouflage. Both real and fake smiles depend on cranial nerve VII, also known as the facial nerve, which sends signals from the brain to the muscles of facial expression. However, there's a key neurological difference: Duchenne smiles tend to be generated by the limbic system, the brain's emotional core – particularly the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that processes emotional salience. Non-Duchenne smiles, by contrast, are often under more conscious cortical control, originating in the motor cortex. This divide means that authentic, emotionally driven smiles are involuntary. You can't easily will your orbicularis oculi to contract convincingly unless you're genuinely feeling the emotion behind the expression. Even professional actors must tap into real memories or method techniques to produce them convincingly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How the brain notices the difference Humans are remarkably good at detecting emotional authenticity. Studies show that even infants as young as ten months can distinguish between real and fake smiles. Evolutionarily, this ability may have helped us assess trustworthiness, recognise true allies and avoid deception. The fusiform gyrus, a part of the brain involved in facial recognition, works closely with the superior temporal sulcus to decode expressions — helping us gauge intention as much as emotion. Fake or polite smiles, on the other hand, usually involve only the mouth muscles. Pixabay/Representational Image In modern life, our sensitivity to facial nuance continues to matter. Politicians, customer service workers and public figures frequently rely on the social smile to navigate complex interpersonal expectations. But observers – consciously or not – often pick up on these micro-discrepancies. Fake smiles aren't necessarily malicious. In fact, they serve important social functions: smoothing awkward interactions, signalling politeness, defusing conflict and showing deference. They are a vital part of what sociologists call 'emotional labour' – managing one's expressions to meet societal or professional expectations. But this kind of smiling, when sustained for long periods, can be emotionally exhausting. Studies of emotional labour suggest that being required to smile without genuine feeling – especially in service roles – is associated with increased stress, burnout and even cardiovascular strain. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As we move further into the age of AI, synthetic faces – from chatbots to virtual assistants – are being programmed to replicate human expressions. Yet the challenge remains: how do you fake authenticity? Engineers can program a smile, but without the micro-contractions around the eyes, many of these expressions still seem disingenuous. Our own anatomy sets the gold standard. So next time you're trying to decode someone's expression, don't just look at the mouth. Watch the eyes. The orbicularis oculi rarely lies. Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
Japan's Moon landing dream crashes, again
Japan's space programme faces a second fatal loss in two years as ispace's Resilience spacecraft crashed on the Moon during its highly-anticipated landing attempt on Friday, June 6, 2025. The spacecraft was targeting to land on the Moon's Sea of Cold in the Northern Hemisphere when Mission Control in Tokyo lost communications and telemetry with the spacecraft. ispace stated that the lander successfully began its descent phase from an altitude of 100 kilometres and all was well until the 20 kilometres mark above the Moon. The spacecraft successfully fired its engine at 20 kilometres altitude to begin deceleration. The engineers later confirmed that the laser rangefinder used to measure the distance to the lunar surface experienced delays in obtaining valid measurement values. As a result, the lander was unable to decelerate sufficiently to reach the required speed for the planned lunar landing and suffered a hard landing. In 2023, the company's first spacecraft, Hakuto-R, crashed with the Rashid rover. The spacecraft experienced an unexpected acceleration on its way down to the surface.
