Lunar setback: Japanese lander loses contact during descent; fate of ‘Resilience' mission uncertain
This image provided by ispace, inc. shows the Resilience lander circling the moon (AP photo)
A Japanese private lunar lander lost communication during its descent to the moon on Friday, leaving its fate unclear. Tokyo-based ispace confirmed that the lander, named Resilience, successfully departed lunar orbit, but contact was lost during the hour-long descent phase.
The company's livestream cut off abruptly during the critical moments. A commentator said in Japanese that confirmation of the landing was still lacking, as Mission Control continued efforts to reconnect. "We haven't been able to confirm,' one of the commentators said in Japanese, adding that Mission Control 'will continuously attempt to communicate with the lander,' according to the Associated Press.
This was ispace's second attempt to land on the moon, following a failed mission two years ago.
The company had named this new craft Resilience as a nod to their perseverance. The lander carried a small rover designed to collect lunar soil and a miniature red house created by a Swedish artist.
Private firms have joined government space agencies in lunar exploration since 2019, facing mixed results. Resilience, which launched from Florida in January, reached lunar orbit after traveling aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost - the first private craft to successfully land on the moon earlier this year.
Shortly after, another American company, Intuitive Machines, reached the lunar surface, but its tall lander crashed near the south pole and stopped functioning within hours.
ispace's lander was targeting Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), a crater-rich region with ancient lava flows located on the moon's northern near side. The 2.3-metre-tall Resilience was expected to begin transmitting images shortly after landing and to deploy its rover over the weekend.
The European-built rover, Tenacious, weighed five kilograms and was constructed from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic. It featured a high-definition camera and a Nasa-commissioned shovel. The rover was designed to stay near the lander, moving slowly at centimetres per second, with a planned range of up to 1 kilometre during a two-week operational window.
In a symbolic gesture, the rover also carried the Moonhouse - a tiny red cottage created by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, meant for placement on the lunar surface.
ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada called the mission a stepping stone toward future ventures, including a larger lander being developed in partnership with NASA for a planned 2027 mission. Before the landing attempt, Hakamada had expressed confidence in lessons learned from the first failed mission. CFO Jumpei Nozaki reinforced the company's resolve, stating they remained committed to lunar exploration "regardless of outcomes.
"
However, at a recent space industry conference, Jeremy Fix, chief engineer at ispace's US division, acknowledged the financial realities, saying the company "cannot sustain repeated failures."
The cost of the current mission was not disclosed, though it was reported to be less than their first, which exceeded 100 million dollars.
Other private firms are continuing their push to the moon. Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology are planning missions before the end of the year.
Astrobotic's earlier attempt in 2024 failed to reach the moon and re-entered Earth's atmosphere.
So far, only five nations - Russia, the US, China, India, and Japan - have successfully completed robotic moon landings. Of these, only the US has landed humans, with 12 NASA astronauts walking on the moon between 1969 and 1972.
Nasa aims to return astronauts to lunar orbit next year, followed by a crewed landing using SpaceX's Starship. China has also announced plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.
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