The Series 1 Lander was enhanced for light weight, small size and dependability. The lander did not complete a soft landing, the cause has been recognized and improvements are being included into Mission 2 and Mission 3. Credit: ispace
The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander, released by ispace in December 2022, stopped working to land safely on the Moon. In April 2023, NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter detected unusual surface area changes and debris near the desired landing site, suggesting potential remnants of the not successful landing. Further analysis is prepared to validate these findings.
The ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander was released on December 11, 2022, a privately funded spacecraft prepared to arrive on the lunar surface. After a several-month journey to the Moon, the spacecraft began a controlled descent to the surface area to land near Atlas crater. The ispace team announced the following day that an anomaly took place, and the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander had not securely touched down on the surface area.
HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander site, as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on April 26, 2023, the day after the attempted landing. The scale bar is 100 m throughout. LROC NAC image M1437131607R. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
LROC Narrow Angle Camera mosaic of the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander site made from the following image pairs: M1437138630L/R, 1437131607L/R, M1437124584L/R, 1437117561L/R, M1437110537L/R. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
On April 26, 2023, NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft got 10 images around the landing site with its Narrow Angle Cameras. The images covered a region approximately 40 km by 45 km (about 25 miles by 28 miles). Utilizing an image acquired before the landing effort, the LRO Camera science group started searching for the lander.
The lander did not finish a soft landing, the cause has actually been recognized and enhancements are being integrated into Mission 2 and Mission 3. The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander, introduced by ispace in December 2022, stopped working to land securely on the Moon. The ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander was introduced on December 11, 2022, an independently moneyed spacecraft planned to land on the lunar surface. The ispace group announced the following day that an abnormality happened, and the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander had not safely touched down on the surface.
HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander website, as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on April 26, 2023, the day after the attempted landing.
Before (M192675639R) and after (M1437131607R) contrast of the impact website. Arrow An indicates a prominent surface modification with higher reflectance in the upper left and lower reflectance in the lower right (reverse of close-by surface area rocks along the best side of the frame). Arrows B, C, and D indicate other modifications around the effect website. The scale bar in the lower right is 50m throughout. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
From the temporal image set, the LRO Camera team recognized an uncommon surface area modification near the small landing site. This is the reverse of nearby stones, suggesting that this could be a little crater or different parts of the lander body.
Ratio image developed by dividing the after (M1437131607R) and before (M192675639R) images. The impact produced an area of higher reflectance, roughly 60-80 m throughout. The scale bar in the lower right is 50m throughout. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is handled by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has gathered a bonanza of information with its seven effective instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon.