Japanese probe's second straight attempt at moon landing a failure

3 weeks ago 6

Four-and-a-half months aft motorboat atop a Falcon 9 rocket, a privately-built Japanese lander attempted to interaction down connected the satellite Thursday, but telemetry indicated a higher-than-expected descent velocity moments earlier communications were lost. The information suggested a mission-ending clang landing.

"Based connected the presently disposable data, the Mission Control Center has been capable to corroborate the following: The laser rangefinder utilized to measurement the region to the lunar aboveground experienced delays successful obtaining valid measurement values," ispace, builder of the Resilience lander, said successful a statement.

"As a result, the lander was incapable to decelerate sufficiently to scope the required velocity for the planned lunar landing. Based connected these circumstances, it is presently assumed that the lander apt performed a hard landing connected the lunar surface."

After unsuccessful attempts to re-establish communications, formation controllers successful Tokyo uplinked commands to reboot the Resilience lander's formation computer. But determination was nary response.

"Given that determination is presently nary imaginable of a palmy lunar landing, our apical precedence is to swiftly analyse the telemetry information we person obtained frankincense acold and enactment diligently to place the cause," said ispace laminitis and CEO Takeshi Hakamada.

"We volition strive to reconstruct spot by providing a study of the findings to our shareholders, payload customers, (mission) partners, authorities officials and each supporters of ispace."

The landing effort came 2 years aft ispace's archetypal lander malfunctioned during the last stages of its descent to the moon, making a akin hard landing. But Hakamada said it was excessively aboriginal to found immoderate communal origin and that engineers needed much clip to analyse the telemetry that made it backmost to Earth.

Carrying cameras, a fewer subject payloads, a tiny rover and adjacent an creation project, Resilience fired its thrusters conscionable aft 2:10 p.m. EDT to statesman the 66-minute descent from a 62-mile-high circular orbit to touchdown adjacent the halfway of Mare Frigoris — the Sea of Cold — successful the moon's bluish hemisphere astatine 60 degrees northbound latitude.

All appeared to beryllium going smoothly when, astir 3:17 p.m. — the projected landing clip — telemetry abruptly ceased. The past information received indicated a higher-than-expected descent velocity and an altitude of 630 feet supra the surface.

"At this moment, we person not yet been capable to found connection with Resilience, but ispace engineers successful our Mission Control Center are continuing to enactment to interaction the lander," the institution posted connected X conscionable aft 5 p.m.

"We volition stock an update with the latest accusation successful a media announcement successful the adjacent fewer hours. Thank you for your patience -- delight cheque backmost with america soon." Three hours later, officials announced the landing nonaccomplishment during a quality briefing.

The superior goals of the ngo were to onshore connected the satellite and deploy the tiny micro rover Tenacious. The rover, successful turn, carried the creation project, a tiny exemplary of a Swedish house, designed by creator Mikael Genberg. The traditionally styled red-and-white location measures conscionable 4.7 inches long, 4 inches precocious and weighs conscionable 3.5 ounces.

Asked wherefore helium took connected the project, which required years of planning, fundraising and engineering, Genberg said "we person done arsenic quality beings things from clip to clip that (do not) seemingly person a intent beyond conscionable being creative."

"The Eiffel Tower, for instance, I mean it's a anserine happening to build," helium said. "Today, it has a intent arsenic possibly the astir important happening to marque Paris the astir visited metropolis successful the world."

While the "moonhouse" could past for thousands if not millions of years successful the airless situation of the moon, its customized overgarment was expected to slice successful the sun's harsh radiation, and lunar particulate volition dilatory overgarment its surface. Genberg joked that helium would happily await an invitation to repaint it.

Ispace is 1 of a fistful of companies attempting to supply non-government proscription services to the satellite for a assortment of payloads ranging from subject instruments to exertion demonstrations.

But arsenic it turns out, getting low-cost spacecraft to the moon's aboveground is highly difficult.

Ispace tried and failed successful 2023 when its archetypal lander ran retired of propellant nearing the surface, dropping to a "hard" clang landing. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology launched its Peregrine lander successful January 2024, but the spacecraft suffered a propulsion strategy leak and ne'er made it to the moon.

Houston-based Intuitive Machines successfully enactment 2 landers down connected the lunar surface in 2024, and again earlier this year, but some spacecraft tipped implicit connected touchdown. While each 1 survived its landing, neither was capable to execute each of its pre-flight objectives.

Before Thursday, lone Firefly Aerospace had successfully touched down and carried retired its mission, landing the Blue Ghost spacecraft connected March 2, 53 years aft the last Apollo mission.

Resilience and Blue Ghost were launched atop a azygous SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket connected Jan. 15. The Blue Ghost lander took a nonstop way to the satellite and carried retired a palmy touchdown, operating for a afloat two-week lunar "day."

Resilience followed a longer, low-energy trajectory that carried it good past its target, utilizing the moon's gravity to bring it backmost to an initially elliptical orbit and finally, utilizing its thrusters, to the 62-mile circular orbit that acceptable the signifier for descent.

William Harwood

Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. abstraction programme full-time since 1984, archetypal arsenic Cape Canaveral bureau main for United Press International and present arsenic a advisor for CBS News.

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