Japanese Private Firm Fails Second Lunar Landing Attempt: "Crashed After Failing to Decelerate"

Communication Lost at 192 Meters Altitude
"Possible Issue with Altitude Measurement Device"

The challenge by a Japanese private company to land on the moon and collect lunar soil has ended in failure once again.

According to NHK and Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japanese space startup ispace announced on June 6 that its lunar lander "Resilience" appears to have crashed into the lunar surface after failing to decelerate just before landing.

The lander sent its last signal from an altitude of about 192 meters, after which communication was lost. Kyodo News reported that a problem with the altitude measurement device is suspected.

Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of ispace, stated at a press conference that morning, "We determined that it would be difficult to restore communications and declared the mission a failure," adding, "It is extremely regrettable that we could not land, and I apologize to everyone who supported us."

Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of Japanese space venture company ispace, shows a somber expression at a press conference held in Tokyo on the 6th after the failed attempt to land on the moon. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Resilience was scheduled to begin decelerating from an altitude of 100 kilometers at around 3:15 a.m. and land in the "Sea of Cold" in the lunar northern hemisphere at around 4:17 a.m. However, about 1 minute and 30 seconds before landing, speed and altitude data disappeared, and ispace announced at 4:30 a.m. that "communications could not be established."

According to Asahi Shimbun, about 500 people, including company officials, gathered in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo to watch the landing, but after communication was lost, the atmosphere at the scene became somber.

Resilience was launched from the United States in January and entered lunar orbit in May. The lander is approximately 2.3 meters high and 2.6 meters wide, and was equipped with a small rover and experimental devices inside.

This was ispace's second attempt at a lunar landing. In April 2023, the lander also crashed into the moon after running out of fuel due to a malfunction in the altitude sensor.

Ispace attempted to address the causes of the previous failure by changing its flight control software and adjusting the planned landing site to a flatter area. There was also a plan to collect lunar soil and sell it to NASA if the landing succeeded, but this plan has been scrapped due to the latest failure.

Meanwhile, Japan became the fifth country in the world to achieve a lunar landing after successfully landing its lunar probe "SLIM" in January last year.

Ispace plans to attempt another lunar landing by 2027.