Japan's ispace fails again: Resilience lander crashes on moon

Japanese company ispace announced that its unmanned moon lander, called Resilience, likely crashed during its landing attempt on Friday. This is their second failed try, after their first mission also ended in a crash two years ago.

Ispace had hoped to join other private companies like Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, both from the U.S., in successfully landing on the moon. But this failure means Japan will have to wait longer to get a commercial presence on the moon again.

Still, Japan isn't giving up. The country continues to support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon, and many Japanese companies are exploring the moon as a future business opportunity.

What Went Wrong?

The lander, Resilience, lost its ability to correctly measure how far it was from the moon's surface. Because of that, it didn't slow down enough and likely crashed. After that, the team lost all communication with the spacecraft.

Ispace's Chief Technology Officer, Ryo Ujiie, said the crash might have been caused by problems with the sensors, software, or propulsion system.

More than 500 people, including ispace employees, investors, and government officials were watching the landing attempt live in Tokyo. The room fell silent when data was lost just two minutes before touchdown.

Following the crash news, ispace's stock price plummeted, dropping 29% due to a wave of sell orders. However, the company said it still has strong financial backing and isn't in immediate trouble.

What Was On Board?

Resilience was carrying a small rover and other scientific equipment, including tools from Japanese companies and a Taiwanese university. The total value of the payloads was about $16 million.

The lander was aiming to land on Mare Frigoris, a plain near the moon’s north pole. If it had landed safely, it would have conducted a two-week exploration mission, including collecting samples of lunar soil as part of a contract with NASA.

Looking Ahead

Even though this mission failed, ispace isn't stopping. Their next mission is already in the works for 2027, using a bigger lander being built by their U.S. branch. In total, ispace is planning at least six more missions by 2029 in both the U.S. and Japan.

Japan is also not alone in its space ambitions. Its space agency, JAXA, successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon last year, making Japan the fifth country to do so after the U.S., Soviet Union, China, and India.

Japan has also signed an agreement with NASA to include Japanese astronauts in future Artemis missions and continues to fund space research and development.

Despite this setback, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba publicly expressed confidence in ispace, saying expectations remain high.

However, some experts say other Japanese companies might now consider working with foreign space transport providers to test their technologies on the moon.

Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said they are committed to helping NASA with its missions, especially given tight budgets, and they will continue supporting development in the U.S. to meet those goals.

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