2023-04-26 11:25:04
The Japanese Hakuto-R mission should have reached its destination at 16:41 GMT yesterday, according to the calculations of the Japanese company Ispacewhich broadcast live on moon landing attempt. Had it been successfully completed, it would have been the first ever achieved by a private mission.
According to the latest data available from Ispace, updated this Wednesday at 8:00 Japanese time (23:00 GMT on Tuesday), “the communication between the probe and the control center of the mission was lost although it was expected to be recovered after landing,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.
For this reason, Ispace has determined that phase 9 or the penultimate phase of the mission could not be successfully reached, that is, complete the moon landing. Phase 10, and the last one, consisted of establishing a stable communication system with the probe and its power supply with a view to guaranteeing its operability on the ground.
If completed successfully, it would have been the first successful lunar landing by a private mission.
The firm was able to confirm that the probe was in a vertical position as it approached the lunar surface and that it made its final approach to it.
However, after the estimated time to reach its destination, “no data was received indicating that it had touched land,” explained the company, which shortly after lost all communication with the probe.
“From this information, it has been determined that there is a high probability that the probe has made a crash landing on the lunar surface,” added Ispace, whose engineers are working on a detailed analysis of the data received to “try to clarify the details” of the fate of Hakuto-R.
According to the Japanese company, there is a high probability that the probe has made a forced landing on the surface of the Moon.
“We imagine that it fell (to the lunar surface) after its fuel ran out,” the mission’s chief of operations explained this Wednesday at a press conference. Ryo UjiieMore.
The probe began to descend, reducing its speed to about 20 kilometers in height and changing its position as expected, so it is possible that it touched down on the lunar surface “although without putting its four legs down,” added Ujiie.
Los ‘foundations’ of the next mission
The founder and CEO of Ispace, Takeshi Hakamadastated that despite the fact that the company “no longer expects to complete the lunar landing” of its first mission, other objectives have been achieved, such as “acquiring a large amount of data and experience” to undertake another similar operation.
“We will use this learning for the mission 2 and beyond”, Hakamada said at a press conference, referring to the next project that Ispace plans to carry out by 2024, consisting of sending another probe to the Moon and deploying a scout vehicle.
The President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Hiroshi YamakawaHe stressed along the same lines that what happened with Hakuto-R “will serve as the foundation for the next mission.”
The next Ispace project for 2024 will consist of sending another probe to the Moon and deploying a rover
JAXA, which collaborates with the Japanese firm, “will continue to take steps together with Ispace and with the industry and international organizations, to contribute not only to space exploration but also to the sustainable development of human society,” said Yamakawa.
The Japanese Aerospace Agency sent a similar mission to the moon in collaboration with NASA last November, although communication with it was also lost a day after its launch.
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidaalso wanted to assess the importance of the mission despite not having met its objective, stating that Hakuto-R “sends a strong message to keep walking” and that his Government will continue “supporting these tireless challenges of start-ups in the space”.
Ispace founder Takeshi Hakamada (C) poses with members of his team. EFE/ EPA/ Franck Robichon
The Hakuto-R lunar probe was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral (Florida, USA) last December. This, about 2.3 meters high and 2.6 meters long, carried a small exploration robot developed by JAXA and the Japanese company Tomy, as well as a moon rover designed by the United Arab Emirates.
A planned landing in Atlas crater
The spacecraft began its descent on Tuesday from an altitude of 100 kilometers above the Moon and was scheduled to land in Atlas, an 87-kilometer crater in the lunar northern hemisphere.
Founded in 2010, Ispace defines itself as a global company whose vision is to “expand the planet” and “expand the future” through concrete actions such as offering low-cost, high-frequency transport services between the Earth and the Moon.
The firm has offices in Japan, Luxembourg and the United States, and has joint projects with NASA and the European Space Agency.
Rights: Creative Commons.
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