A Japanese Spacecraft Has Crash-Landed on the Moon—Again
Investigations by the Japanese company ispace identified issues with speed and an altitude sensor that likely doomed the lander
By & Nature magazine
A Japanese spacecraft has probably crashed on the Moon, the second failed landing attempt for Tokyo-based private firm ispace.
The HAKUTO-R Mission 2 (M2) lander — also called Resilience — began its landing sequence from a 100-kilometre-altitude orbit at 3.13am local time on 5 June. The craft was due to land near the centre of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) at 4.17am.
The ispace team said at a press conference that it lost contact with M2 when the craft was 192 metres above the Moon's surface and descending faster than expected. An attempt to reboot M2 was also unsuccessful.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
M2 didn't receive measurements of the distance between itself and the lunar surface in time to slow down and reach its correct landing speed, the team said.
'It eventually slowed down, but not softly enough,' says Clive Neal, who studies the Moon at the University of Notre Dame in Indianapolis, US. He speculates that the failure was probably caused by a systems issue that wasn't identified and addressed during the M1 landing attempt. 'It's something that I believe will definitely be fixable, because getting that close means there's a few tweaks that are going to be needed for the next one,' he adds.
If M2 had successfully landed on the lunar surface, the mission would have been the second time a commercial company had achieved the feat and a first for a non-US company. ispace's Mission 1 (M1) probably crashed during a landing attempt in April 2023.
Second chance
Lunar landings are challenging. When M1 crashed, Ryo Ujiie, ispace's chief technology officer said the telemetry — which collects data on the craft's altitude and speed — estimated that M1 was on the surface when it wasn't, causing the lander to free fall.
Speaking to Nature last week, Ujiie said the company had addressed the telemetry issue with M2 and modified its software. 'We also carefully selected how to approach the landing site,' he added.
Had M2 landed successfully, the craft would have supplied electricity for its cargo, including water electrolyzing equipment and a module for food production experiments — developed by Japan-based Takasago Thermal Engineering and biotechnology firm Euglena. A deep space radiation probe made by Taiwan's National Central University, and the 54-centimetre Tenacious rover were also be on board. The rover, created by ispace's European subsidiary in Luxemburg, was going to be released from the lander to collect imagery, location data and lunar sand known as regolith. Tenacious also carries a small red house made by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.
Commercial pair
The craft launched on 15 January from Cape Canaveral, Florida, onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket was also carrying the Blue Ghost Moon lander — developed by Firefly Aerospace, an aerospace firm based in Texas — which landed on the Moon on 2 March.
M2 took a longer path to the moon than Blue Ghost, performing a lunar flyby on 15 February and spending two months in a low-energy transfer orbit before entering lunar orbit on 7 May. Ujiie says the path was slower because it was a low-energy trajectory, meaning that less fuel was used to move between Earth and lunar orbit.
Richard de Grijs, an astronomer at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, says there will likely be more private companies trying to land their own crafts on the Moon. 'It seems that the big government players like NASA are quite keen to partner with commercial companies,' he says, because they can develop and launch crafts more cheaply than government bodies. He also expects that more missions will be launched in clusters, like the launch of M2 and Blue Ghost.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Your colon's got a ‘sixth sense' — here's how it can lead to weight loss
Talk about a 'gut feeling.' New research from Duke University highlights the role of neuropods, specialized sensory cells in the colon that act like taste buds for the gut. Neuropods 'sample' nutrients like sugars and bacterial byproducts and quickly send signals to the brain, guiding food choices and even influencing when it's time to stop eating. Researchers call the phenomenon 'neurobiotic sense' — a 'hidden sixth sense.' They hope it paves the way for new obesity treatments and provides insight into mental health disorders affected by diet. 'It's similar to how we use our other senses — sight, sound, smell, taste and touch — to interpret our world,' the study authors said. 'But this one operates from an unexpected place: The gut.' Scientists have long known about the gut-brain connection, the major communication highway that affects digestion, mood and overall well-being. For their part, the colon's neuropod cells can warn the brain of bacterial intruders. The new Duke study — published Wednesday in the journal Nature — focuses on flagellin, a key structural protein that enables bacteria to move. Some of our gut bacteria release flagellin when we eat. Neuropod cells use a special receptor called TLR5 to recognize flagellin and relay the information through the vagus nerve — the main link between the gut and the brain. The researchers examined how this works in mice. They had one set of mice fast overnight before giving them a small dose of flagellin from Salmonella Typhimurium, a well-studied type of bacteria that causes infections. The mice ate less. They repeated these steps with mice that had their TLR5 receptor 'knocked out.' These mice continued to eat and ended up gaining weight because the brain couldn't pick up on the flagellin signal. No other changes to the mice's behavior were detected. The results suggest that TLR5 helps tell the brain that it's time to put down the fork. The brain doesn't get the memo without the receptor. 'If we disrupt this pathway, then the animals end up eating a little bit more for a little bit longer,' Duke School of Medicine neuroscientist Diego Bohórquez told The Post. Bohórquez previously demonstrated that neuropod cells in the gut can distinguish between real sugar and artificial sweeteners. The cells communicate this information to the brain, driving the preference for sugar. 'Looking ahead, I think this work will be especially helpful for the broader scientific community to explain how our behavior is influenced by microbes,' said Bohórquez, a professor of medicine and neurobiology and senior study author. 'One clear next step is to investigate how specific diets change the microbial landscape in the gut,' he added. 'That could be a key piece of the puzzle in conditions like obesity or psychiatric disorders.' Bohórquez said that future research should also address the effect of bacterial strains beyond Salmonella Typhimurium and explore whether antibiotics or probiotics can influence this neurobiotic sense. Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows Where Millions Can See International Space Station on Thursday
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Millions of Americans and Canadians will have a chance to see the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday night as it cuts a path across North America. Why It Matters The ISS orbits Earth and houses astronauts and a research laboratory for experiments in microgravity. The ISS is maintained by NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It travels at about 17,500 mph and completes an orbit around Earth every 90 minutes. What To Know At times, the ISS is visible from the U.S. as it orbits Earth. The next chance Americans will have at sighting the space station will be Thursday night as it cuts from Northwest Canada through parts of the Northeastern U.S. in a span of a few minutes. "The International Space Station is visible because it reflects sunlight—the same reason we can see the Moon," a NASA webpage about the ISS says. "However, unlike the Moon, the space station is not bright enough to see during the day. Viewing opportunities can range from one a month to several a week as the light from the Sun reflects off station as it passes overhead at dawn and dusk at the user's preferred location." No equipment will be needed to view the ISS as it passes over the U.S., as it is visible to the naked eye. Millions of Americans outside the ISS' direct path also will have a chance to see it. A map from AccuWeather shows the planned path of the ISS. Shortly after 9:25 p.m. ET, the ISS will travel from Canada into New York, where it will continue its southeastern path for hardly more than a minute before it exits over the Atlantic Ocean. A map from AccuWeather shows where the ISS will be visible on July 24, 2025. A map from AccuWeather shows where the ISS will be visible on July 24, 2025. AccuWeather The timeline is as follows: 9:22-9:25 p.m. ET: The ISS will be traveling southeast over Ontario, Canada. The ISS will be traveling southeast over Ontario, Canada. 9:25-9:26 p.m. ET: The ISS will travel over Northern New York, Southern Vermont, far Southwestern New Hampshire and through Massachusetts to exit over the Atlantic Ocean. The ISS will travel over Northern New York, Southern Vermont, far Southwestern New Hampshire and through Massachusetts to exit over the Atlantic Ocean. 9:27-9:29 p.m. ET: The ISS will continue its path over the Atlantic Ocean. Anyone within the viewing circle will be able to see the space station if weather conditions are right, meaning millions as far south as Georgia up through Maine and Michigan will have a chance at spotting the ISS. The ISS is bright enough that people can spot it even in large cities with light pollution. However, cloudy conditions could disrupt the viewing in some areas. "It looks like there could be some clouds on the western side of that near the Great Lakes, so Wisconsin, the Toronto area," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva told Newsweek. "Those areas I'm a little worried there could be some clouds in the way." People further east in Southeastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and Western New York will have the best chance to view the ISS. All ISS viewings occur a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. The ISS includes six sleeping areas, two bathrooms, a gym and a 360-degree-view bay window, NASA says in a webpage. It orbits earth 16 times in 24 hours, "traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets." What People Are Saying AccuWeather posted on X on Thursday morning: "The International Space Station [ISS] will fly over the eastern United States and parts of Canada just after sunset on Thursday evening, an easy-to-see event for millions of residents across the region." NASA in a webpage about the ISS: "The acre of solar panels that power the station means sometimes you can look up in the sky at dawn or dusk and see the spaceship flying over your home, even if you live in a big city." What Happens Next NASA suggests people who want a chance to view the ISS when it passes over the U.S. to download Spot the Station, a mobile app that notifies users about potential ISS viewings.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Revealed: The number of steps you need to improve your life expectancy
Walking 7,000 steps a day is the sweet spot for preventing many chronic diseases that can lead to an early death, a major study has shown. While the goal of 10,000 daily steps has become firmly established in the public consciousness, an international team of researchers found even a modest amount of walking brings major benefits. British scientists said it finally 'debunked the myth' of 10,000 steps and should encourage people to try and hit the lower target. The major review of 57 studies involving 160,000 adults, which was published in The Lancet, concluded that for most conditions health benefits tended to level off beyond 7,000 steps. Hitting 7,000 steps a day was found to reduce all-cause-mortality by 47 per cent, cardiovascular disease by 25 per cent, cancer by six per cent, diabetes by 14 per cent, dementia by 38 per cent and depression by 22 per cent. Health benefits were also apparent from 4,000 steps when compared to 'inactive' people who walked just 2,000, the study led by the University of Sydney found. Every extra 1,000 steps brought better outcomes, researchers found. Commenting on the study, Steven Harridge, professor of human and applied physiology at King's College London, said: 'Humans are designed to be physically active – our evolutionary heritage as hunter gatherers. 'There has been debate about the amount of activity an individual should be doing with 10,000 steps as a generalised target, not well evidenced. 'This paper shows that 7,000 steps is sufficient for reducing the risk for most diseases covered, and 10, 000 steps does not confer much additional benefit.' According to World Health Organisation data, insufficient physical activity is the fourth most frequent cause of death in the world, with 3.2 million deaths a year related to physical inactivity. Many health organisations recommend hitting 10,000 steps a day, although there is little evidence for the target, which is believed to have arisen from a Japanese marketing campaign in the 1960s. In the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the company Yamasa sought to capitalise on the sudden interest in fitness, so designed the world's first wearable step-counter. They called it the Manpo-kei, or '10,000-step meter'. The company appears to have chosen the figure at random, as a fun goal, but it has stuck ever since. The new paper found that for heart disease, walking more than 7,000 steps was beneficial, but for most conditions there was little gain from putting in more said it was still unclear why walking brings such striking benefits but said it is likely to increase cardiorespiratory fitness, which is known to be positively associated with better health and all-cause mortality outcomes. Commenting on the research, Dr Daniel Bailey, an expert in sedentary behaviour and health at Brunel University of London, said the 7,000 steps target was more achievable for many people than 10,000 steps. 'Just adding more steps from your starting point can have important benefits for health,' he said. 'This study adds to existing evidence by showing that the more steps people do, the less their risk of developing different health conditions. 'The finding that doing 5,000-7,000 steps per day is beneficial, is an important addition to the literature which helps to debunk the myth that 10,000 steps per day should be the target for optimal health.' The Alzheimer's Society also welcomed the study saying it demonstrated that inactivity is a major risk factor for dementia. Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the charity said: 'It adds to the evidence that what's good for the heart is good for the head.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
