A Japanese spacecraft from the company ispace encountered a disappointing setback when it crashed while attempting to land on the moon. Communication with the spacecraft was lost just moments before touchdown, leaving flight controllers scrambling for answers. After more than six hours of uncertainty, ispace confirmed that there was a “high probability” the lander had crashed into the moon’s surface. This was a significant blow for ispace, which had been on the verge of becoming the fourth entity to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon.
Even as contact was lost, Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, remained hopeful during the lander’s descent. However, minutes turned into silence, leaving Hakamada to announce the likely failure of the landing. Official confirmation came in a statement, stating that there was a high probability of a hard landing on the moon’s surface.
Despite the setback, Hakamada vowed to try again and announced plans for a second moonshot next year. If successful, ispace would become the first private business to achieve a lunar landing. Currently, only Russia, the United States, and China have accomplished this feat. Israel made an attempt in 2019 but failed.
The Japanese lander, measuring 7 feet, carried a mini lunar rover for the United Arab Emirates and a robot designed to explore the moon’s surface. The mission intended for the rover and robot to operate for approximately 10 days. Named Hakuto, meaning “white rabbit” in Japanese, the spacecraft targeted the Atlas crater on the moon’s near side.
Ispace had taken a lengthy route to the moon following its December liftoff, capturing photos of Earth along the way. The lander entered lunar orbit on March 21. During the final approach, flight controllers observed the lander’s thrusters slowing it down, indicating it was upright. However, as the fuel depleted, the descent sped up, leading to a loss of communication and the belief that the lander crashed.
Founded in 2010, ispace aims to become a profitable lunar taxi service, transporting others to the moon. The company has already raised $300 million to cover the first three missions. Hakamada remains determined to continue the lunar quest.
The moon is experiencing renewed global interest, with several countries and private companies vying to be a part of lunar exploration. China has successfully landed three spacecraft on the moon since 2013, while the US, China, India, and South Korea have satellites currently orbiting the moon. NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2024, recently completed its first test flight. Private companies, such as Astrobotic Technology and Intuitive Machines, also have lunar landers awaiting launch.
The Japanese lander and the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet were finalists in the Google Lunar X Prize competition, which sought a successful moon landing by 2018. However, the $20 million grand prize went unclaimed.
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