Japan-based company is poised for its moon-landing attempt
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Title: Soft landing on the moon is still really hard. Here's why
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All lunar landing attempts — even missions such as this with no humans on board — bring with them an element of risk and awe.
Success is far from guaranteed. Overall, more than half of all lunar landing attempts have ended in failure, tough odds for a feat humanity first pulled off nearly 60 years ago.
While technology has advanced in the past five decades, the fundamental challenges of landing on the moon remain the same. Here's what Resilience has had to overcome — and what it has yet to face.
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Title: Here's what to expect during today's moon-landing attempt
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Resilience, a spacecraft built by Tokyo-based Ispace that could redeem the company after a failed moon-landing attempt in 2023, is ready to make its final descent to the lunar surface.
Ispace has broken down its mission in to series of 10 goals or anticipated 'successes.' Resilience has already notched through the first eight of those steps.
All that's left is the landing sequence and the harrowing moment of touchdown.
Here are the key moments to watch out for:
• During the touchdown attempt, Ispace will confirm it has started the 'lunar landing sequence' — the final steps the Resilience lander will need to tick through in the moments before the vehicle leaves it circular orbit around the moon and begins its touchdown attempt.
• There a several critical phases within the sequence. The vehicle will begin to change its orientation and start the braking process, aiming to slow down Resilience's speed.
• Resilience's targeted touchdown time is 3:17 p.m. ET. The lander is aiming for a spot within Mare Frigoris — or the 'Sea of Cold' — which lies in the moon's far northern reaches.
• If all goes according to plan, Ispace should confirm the vehicle is safely on the surface within a minute or so after touchdown, the company's CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, told CNN.
• Ground controllers will then conduct a series of health checks to make sure the lander, its science instruments and all other components are functioning as intended.
• The first image from the lander is expected within the first 12 hours after the spacecraft reaches the surface, perhaps sooner. (Take note: Every lunar landing mission has to deal with limited bandwidth to beam data back to Earth. Sometimes, visuals are not the highest priority.)
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