Japan's Lunar Ambitions Face Setback with Resilience Hard Landing
Japan's ispace's latest lunar mission, featuring the lander 'Resilience', ended in failure with a hard landing on the moon. The company, undeterred by consecutive setbacks, promises continued efforts in lunar exploration. Analysis suggests issues with the lander's altitude measurement system contributed to its rapid descent.
- Country:
- Japan
In a significant setback for Japan's space industry, the private company ispace faced another failure with its lunar lander, Resilience, which crashed during an attempted moon landing on Friday. This marks the second unsuccessful mission for ispace, raising concerns about the challenges of commercial lunar exploration.
Communication was lost just minutes before Resilience was scheduled to land, leading flight controllers to end the mission. Preliminary analyses suggest issues with the lander's altitude measurement system potentially caused its uncontrolled descent. Despite the crash, ispace's founder, Takeshi Hakamada, expressed determination to continue with future lunar missions.
Ispace's mission aimed to deploy a mini rover, Tenacious, equipped with a camera and a shovel to collect lunar soil. The mission also carried a small artistic piece by a Swedish artist, highlighting the intersection of science and culture. The company plans to reassess its approach as it prepares for future lunar endeavors.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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