ispace's lunar lander, Resilience, faced failure during its landing attempt on the moon, after two years since its predecessor's crash. The un-crewed vehicle aimed to be the first non-US commercial lander on the lunar surface but lost communication with mission control shortly after the landing attempt. This incident recalls a previous failure in 2023 when the Hakuto-R Mission 1 experienced a software error. The failure of this mission could significantly impact ispace's plans for establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon and developing a cislunar economy leading to lunar tourism and habitation.
The apparent demise of Hakuto-R Mission 2 would be a significant setback for ispace's Venture Moon initiative that it said would be laying the groundwork for an extended human presence on the moon.
Resilience, an un-crewed vehicle from the Tokyo company ispace, would have made history as the first non-US commercial lander to make a successful touchdown.
Mission control center members will continuously attempt to communicate with the lander, promising an update at a press briefing in a few hours.
It brought back memories of the April 2023 failure of ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1, when communication with the spacecraft was lost around the scheduled time of landing.
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