Hakuto-R, the first Japanese lunar module lost communication after trying to land
(Screenshot - ispace/YouTube)
The Japanese lunar module Hakuto-R hasn’t communicated with the control center after an attempt to land on the Moon.
The probe was carrying the Rashid lunar rover of the United Arab Emirates.
The landing was broadcast on Youtube, and after a ten-minute wait for telemetry from the vehicle, the broadcast was interrupted.
A few hours later, the creator of the module, ispace, reported that it still could not confirm the landing was successful.
During that time, the engineers were still trying to determine the current state of the module.
Earlier, the founder of ispace, Takeshi Hakamada, reported that communication with the module was interrupted just before touching the surface of the moon.
It is possible that it crashed or was badly damaged.
Hakuto-R was developed by a private Japanese company ispace, the first such device went into space in December 2022 as part of the HAKUTO-R, Mission 1.
The spaceship reached lunar orbit in March 2023.
On board the module were the Rashid lunar rover, built by the United Arab Emirates, the Japanese mini-rover Sora-Q, and other payloads.
Sources:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ispace_inc/status/1651070214317166592
YouTube:
SpaceNews: https://spacenews.com/first-ispace-lunar-lander-feared-lost/
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