▼ Summary
– A Japanese private lunar lander, ispace’s Resilience, crashed during its landing attempt, marking the company’s second consecutive failure.
– Communications were lost less than two minutes before touchdown, with preliminary analysis suggesting a malfunction in the altitude-measuring laser system caused a hard landing.
– The mission aimed to deploy a mini rover to gather lunar dirt and place a Swedish artist’s tiny red house on the moon’s surface.
– Despite the setback, ispace plans to continue lunar missions, including a larger NASA-involved lander by 2027, but acknowledges financial constraints.
– Private moon landings have seen mixed success, with only five countries achieving robotic lunar landings and the U.S. remaining the sole nation to land humans.
Japan’s ambitious private moon mission ended in disappointment as the lunar lander crashed during its final descent, marking another setback in the growing commercial space race. The Tokyo-based company ispace confirmed the failure after losing contact with the spacecraft moments before its scheduled touchdown. Flight controllers made frantic attempts to reestablish communication but ultimately declared the mission unsuccessful.
The Resilience lander, named after the company’s previous failed attempt, carried a compact rover designed to collect lunar soil samples. Initial data suggests the crash occurred when the altitude measurement system malfunctioned, causing the spacecraft to descend too rapidly. “We must treat this second failure with utmost seriousness,” stated CEO Takeshi Hakamada, while reaffirming the company’s commitment to future lunar exploration efforts.
This latest incident highlights the challenges facing private space ventures. While government agencies have achieved robotic moon landings for decades, commercial attempts have seen mixed results. Earlier this year, Firefly Aerospace became the first private firm to successfully reach the lunar surface, followed by Intuitive Machines—though its lander toppled upon arrival.
The Resilience mission targeted a relatively safe landing zone in Mare Frigoris, a region known for its ancient lava formations. The spacecraft had traveled for months after its January launch from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket. Its payload included a European-built rover equipped with NASA instruments and an unusual artistic addition—a miniature Swedish-style house meant as a symbolic lunar installation.
Despite the setback, ispace views this as part of its long-term strategy. The company plans to launch a larger NASA-supported lander by 2027, though executives acknowledge the financial pressures of repeated failures. “We don’t have unlimited resources,” admitted the chief engineer of ispace’s U.S. division during a recent conference.
The commercial moon race continues with two American companies—Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology—preparing their own lunar landing attempts later this year. Meanwhile, NASA maintains its focus on returning astronauts to the moon, with crewed missions planned as early as next year. China has also announced ambitions to land its astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
(Source: AP News)
