Japan-based private space company ispace has announced that it has lost communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar landing attempt.
“Communication has not yet been established,” the company announced on X, noting that its control center team is actively working to reestablish contact with the lander.
‘Resilience’ lander circling the moon on Wednesday. Pic: AP
The mission, featuring the aircraft called Resilience, represents the company’s second attempt to land on the moon, following the failure of its inaugural mission in 2023.
According to the company’s live-streamed flight data, the moon lander’s altitude dropped to zero shortly before its scheduled landing time of 8:17 PM on Thursday.
A model of the lunar lander “Resilience”, operated by ‘ispace’. Pic: Reuters
Footage from the control room captured the tense expressions of engineers, with silence prevailing in a room filled with ispace employees, stakeholders, and government officials.
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Commercial spacecraft lands on moon
The Tokyo-based firm aims to follow in the footsteps of US companies Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace—both of whom have already successfully completed commercial moon landings.
ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference later in the evening to provide updates on the mission.
In 2023, ispace’s first lander crashed onto the moon’s surface due to incorrect altitude recognition. Software fixes have been implemented, and while the hardware design largely remains unchanged in Resilience, the company has stated.
