Latest news with #HAKUTO-R
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Science
- Fast Company
Japan's ispace fails second private moon landing attempt
A Japanese company trying to land a spacecraft on the moon Friday said that the unmanned lander is believed to have crashed into the lunar surface. The Tokyo-based private space exploration company ispace reported that its Resilience lunar lander successfully initiated its descent onto the moon, but lost communication shortly afterward. Resilience made its descent from 100 kilometers above the moon's surface to 20 kilometers normally and its main engine fired to initiate the deceleration process before ispace's connection to the spacecraft's telemetry went dark. Five hours after initiating the landing sequence and attempting to remotely reboot the craft, mission control determined that regaining the connection wasn't possible and declared an end to the mission, known as Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon. A crash landing upends the mission According to the company's early findings, the laser rangefinder Resilience used to calculate the distance to the surface of the moon was operating on a delay, an error that likely prevented the lander from slowing down for a successful landing. Given those findings, ispace concluded that its signature spacecraft 'likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface.' 'Given that there is currently no prospect of a successful lunar landing, our top priority is to swiftly analyze the telemetry data we have obtained thus far and work diligently to identify the cause,' ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said, adding that the company would issue a detailed report on its findings. The failed lunar mission follows ispace's first attempt in 2023, which also ended with a bang. That craft, the Hakuto-R lunar lander, free-fell out of the sky for 5 kilometers before smashing into the lunar surface after onboard sensors miscalculated its altitude. The lunar south pole in the spotlight With interest in Mars on the upswing, humanity's drive to get back to the moon seemed to have waned in recent decades before a recent flurry of new lunar excitement. In 2023, India became the fourth nation to successfully land on the moon, joining the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and China. The following year, Japan joined their ranks when the country's JAXA space agency nailed a historic pinpoint landing on the moon, but pulled the feat off accidentally upside-down. For national space agencies, the spirit of scientific exploration isn't the only thing putting the moon back in focus. The moon's icy south pole is believed to house water frozen in shadowed craters, a resource that would prove invaluable for future human activity on the moon, or even as a hydration waystop for space exploration beyond it. That context is useful for understanding why manned moon missions are back on the docket for NASA, which wants to establish the first 'long-term presence' on the lunar surface and plans to put humans back on the moon in 2028, optimistically. China has its own plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030, the first stepping stone toward its goal of establishing a lunar research station. Private partnerships power the new space race Lunar interest isn't just waxing among national space agencies. Private spaceflight companies around the globe have scrambled to get into the mix, with some like ispace sending their landers up with a ride from SpaceX rockets. Firefly Aerospace, based in Austin, Texas, made history of its own in March when its Blue Ghost lunar lander reached the lunar surface, making it the first private company to soft land on the moon. A lunar lander from Houston-based Intuitive Machines followed closely behind but touched down at an odd angle, preventing the solar panels that power it from recharging to carry out its mission objectives. Both lunar missions carried equipment for NASA through a program known as Commercial Lunar Payload Services, an initiative that will allow the agency to conduct scientific research through private moon missions. Between global powers with designs on lunar ice and a lucrative web of public-private partnerships, the moon is the next big prize in the space race – one we're going to be hearing a lot more about in the coming years.
Japan Forward
4 days ago
- Business
- Japan Forward
Japan's ispace Eyes First Private Landing by Asian Firm
A second lunar lander developed by Japanese space startup ispace Inc. (based in Minato, Tokyo) is set to attempt a moon landing in the early hours of June 6 (Japan time). If successful, it would be the first lunar landing ever achieved by a private company in Asia. The mission also aims to collect samples of lunar soil (regolith) using a small rover and carry out the world's first commercial transaction on the Moon by transferring ownership of the collected material to NASA. Launched in January 2025 from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket, the lander is currently orbiting the Moon at an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers, traveling at around 5,800 kilometers per hour in a circular path. At about 3:15 AM on June 6, the craft's main engine will fire forward to alter its trajectory and initiate descent. According to the mission plan, the lander will initially descend to an altitude of around 20 kilometers using inertia alone. It will then fire its main engine once more to decelerate to approximately 380 kilometers per hour. Upon reaching about three kilometers in altitude, the craft will enter its final landing phase, gradually reducing speed to around two kilometers per hour while adjusting its posture with both the main and auxiliary engines. Touchdown is scheduled for 4:17 AM in the Moon's northern region, near the so-called "Sea of Ice." The original landing time of 4:24 AM was revised on June 4. ispace previously attempted a lunar landing in 2023, but the mission ended in failure after the spacecraft lost altitude data and crashed from roughly five kilometers above the surface. For this second attempt, the company has significantly enhanced its altitude sensors and control systems to enable a more precise descent. Lunar module used in the HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program by ispace on April 26, 2023. (© JAPAN Forward by Hidemitsu Kaito) If successful, this will mark the first moon landing by a private company in Asia. Moreover, if ispace's in-house rover manages to traverse the lunar surface and collect regolith, it would become the first private firm in the world to achieve such a feat. Yoshitsugu Hitachi, lead developer for the second mission, voiced his determination at a May 30 press conference, stating: 'We've prepared thoroughly, drawing on the lessons from our first attempt. Our goal is complete success, from the landing itself to the surface exploration.' (Read the article in Japanese .) Author: Juichiro Ito, The Sankei Shimbun
