space travel
Whereabouts of Japanese moon probe still unclear
A model of the lunar lander “Hakuto-R”. photo
© Eugene Hoshiko/AP/dpa
It should have been a moment of jubilation, but after the time of landing there was helplessness and concern. Initially, no communication was possible with the Japanese moon lander “Hakuto-R”.
The Japanese company ispace was still unable to establish contact with its moon probe “Hakuto-R” on Wednesday night. Company boss Takeshi Hakamada hinted that the dream of the first moon landing of a private mission may have failed. It must be assumed that “we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface,” the Japanese media quoted him as saying. Flight control center specialists are working to determine “the current status of the lander,” ispace said on Twitter.
Shortly before the end of the landing phase, according to Hakamada, there was still contact with the unmanned spacecraft. After that, the communication was broken. There was initially no further information until early Wednesday morning (CEST). This left it unclear whether “Hakuto-R” touched down largely intact or suffered serious damage. Should there have been an accident, it would still remain the case that only government missions have mastered a successful moon landing. Other private moon missions had previously failed.
In December, the commercial moon lander from Japan was launched with a rocket towards the moon. The lander, 2.3 meters high and 2.6 meters wide with the landing legs extended, had a small United Arab Emirates rover and an even smaller two-wheeled robot on board. It was developed by the Japanese state space agency Jaxa and the Japanese toy manufacturer Tomy. A goal of the company is the commercial transport of goods to the surface of the moon.