Japanese Moon Mission Crashes Once Again, ispace Faces Continued setbacks
Moon Landing Attempt Fails Once More for Japanese Company - Moon Landing Attempt Falters for Japanese Firm
Hey there! Let's dive into the moon mission fiasco of the Japanese private company, ispace. Their latest endeavor, the "Resilience" moon lander, took a hard tumble onto the lunar surface after failing to slow down during descent.
Now, you might be wondering, why did the moon mission get axed? Well, when the Resilience was en route for the moon, communication with the lander went dark during its descent to the lunar surface. Disheartening news for the team, as they were forced to pull the plug on the mission.
In a way, this could've been predicted. Recall the company's initial attempt in 2023 with the Hakuto-R lander? Yup, they faced the same issue, losing contact with the lander shortly after the targeted landing time. The root cause? An incorrect height calculation that led to a bumpy landing on the moon's surface[1][2][3].
This repetitive pattern of technical glitches is unfortunate for ispace, as they strive to close the gap with US companies in the lunar exploration race. As ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada puts it, "We wanna catch up to the US companies as quickly as possible."
So, what's the deal with these moon missions? They're notoriously tricky, technically speaking. But remember when US company Intuitive Machines nailed the first commercial moon landing in 2024 with the "Odysseus"? A year later, another private US company made their mark with a moon landing. Looks like there's a uphill battle for ispace to claw their way into the limelight.
Curious about the details of the technical issues? The primary culprit behind the latest ispace disaster seems to be a funky laser rangefinder. Used to measure distance to the lunar surface, it experienced delays in valid readings. This, in turn, resulted in the lander's inability to dial back its speed, leading to a "high-speed" impact on the lunar surface[3][4]. Despite attempts at resuscitating the lander by restarting its flight computer, no response was registered, confirming the end of the mission.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/japanese-firm-ispace-loses-contact-lunar-lander-likely-crashed-moon-2023-04-29/[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/29/japanese-company-ispace-loses-contact-with-attempted-lunar-lander.html[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/science/space/japanese-lunar-lander-crash.html[4] https://www.space.com/astronomy/japanese-company-ispace-lunar-mission-fails-caneel-canyon.html
In light of the repeated setbacks faced by ispace in their lunar exploration missions, a thorough review of their community policy might be necessary to ensure the prevention of similar technical glitches in the future. To achieve this, ispace could leverage advancements in science, technology, and space-and-astronomy to optimize their lunar landing projects, specifically addressing issues related to the laser rangefinder and height calculations.
