A Japanese moon lander crashed while trying to land on the surface of the moon, officials of a private company said, blaming a programming problem and a last-minute change in the landing site.
The spacecraft owned by Icespace was supposed to land on a flat surface, but the landing site was changed to a crater before the December launch. It appears that the sharp edge of the crater confused the vehicle's programming, and it fell from a height of less than 5 km and collided with the lunar surface.
The founder and CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, stated that the company is continuing its endeavor to attempt another landing in 2024, and all lessons learned will be included in the next attempt. A third landing attempt is also planned for 2025.
If successful, Icespace could be the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon. So far, only three countries have said they have succeeded: Russia, the United States and China. An Israeli non-profit company made an attempt in 2019, which also ended in a crash on the landing. Hakamada explained that the vehicle “Hakuto” means white rabbit in Japanese, and its experiments are insured.
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