The AP reports that a private Japanese spacecraft has crashed while attempting to land on the Moon. The landing, which was initially scheduled to go ahead, was aborted at the last minute after a loss of communication. Tokyo-based iSpace has officially announced the mission's failure.
The "Resilience" spacecraft was carrying a mobile research vehicle with a shovel to collect lunar soil samples and a toy-sized red cabin designed by a Swedish artist to be placed on the lunar surface. However, initial analysis has shown that the laser system used to measure altitude did not work as expected, causing the spacecraft to descend too quickly and presumably make a hard landing.
This is iSpace's second failed attempt to land on the Moon. The first mission ended in a crash in 2023, after which the second astronaut was named "Resilience" as a symbol of continuity.
Notably, NASA plans to send four astronauts to the Moon by 2026, followed by another human landing on SpaceX's Starship. China also plans to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.
