A Japanese company tried to land its own spacecraft on the moon early Wednesday, but its fate was unknown as flight controllers lost contact with it moments before the planned touchdown.
Controllers peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as the minutes went by with still no word from the lander.
A webcast commentator urged everyone to be patient, as the controllers investigated what might have happened. Contact was lost as the lander descended the final 10 metres, travelling around 25 km/h.
“Everyone, please give us a few minutes to confirm,” he urged.
However, roughly 10 minutes later, Ispace founder and chief executive Takeshi Hakamada spoke in front of a sober-looking team.
“At this moment we have not been able to confirm a successful landing on the lunar surface,” he said. “We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface.”
He said that engineers will continue to evaluate the situation and provide an update at a later time.
If successful, the company Ispace would be the first private business to pull off a lunar landing.
Only three governments have successfully landed on the moon: Russia, the United States and China. An Israeli non-profit tried to land on the moon in 2019, but its spacecraft was destroyed on impact.
The 2.3-metre Japanese lander carried a mini lunar rover for the United Arab Emirates and a toy-like robot from Japan designed to roll around in the moon dust. There were also items from private customers on board.
Named Hakuto-r, Japanese for white rabbit, the spacecraft had targeted Atlas crater in the northeastern section of the moon’s near side, more than 87 kilometres across and just over two kilometres deep.
Hakuto-r took a long, roundabout route to the moon following its December lift-off, beaming back photos of Earth along the way.
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