Moon lander crashes due to sudden change.

Private Japanese Moon Lander Crashes on Lunar Surface

A private Japanese moon lander went into free-fall while trying to land on the lunar surface, company officials said Friday, blaming a software issue and a last-minute switch in the touchdown location.

The spacecraft belonging to the company ispace was originally supposed to land in a flat plain, but the target was changed to a crater before December’s launch. Unfortunately, the crater’s steep cliff confused the onboard software, causing the 7-foot spacecraft to go into a free-fall from less than 3 miles up, slamming into the lunar surface.

Lessons Learned and Future Attempts

Despite the setback, CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said the company is still on track to attempt another moon landing in 2024, and that all the lessons learned will be incorporated into the next try. A third landing attempt is planned for 2025.

If successful, ispace would have been the first private company to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. Currently, only three governments have achieved that: Russia, the United States, and China. An Israeli nonprofit tried in 2019, but its attempt also ended in a crash landing.

Losses and Insurance

Named Hakuto, Japanese for white rabbit, the spacecraft and its experiments were insured, according to Hakamada. Unfortunately, the United Arab Emirates had a mini lunar rover on board that was lost in the crash.