Latest news with #ispaceInc
24-06-2025
- Science
Japan Startup Blames Altimeter Problem for Failed Moon Landing
News from Japan Science Society Jun 24, 2025 21:56 (JST) Tokyo, June 24 (Jiji Press)--Japanese startup ispace Inc. said Tuesday that its lunar probe failed to land on the moon earlier this month because its altimeter malfunctioned. The spacecraft was set to touch down on the moon June 6 in the company's second lunar landing attempt. If the mission had succeeded, ispace would have been the first Asian company to achieve a lunar landing. In the early hours of the day, the company's second lunar lander began its descent from lunar orbit at a point 100 kilometers above the moon's surface. It was mounted with an altimeter using lasers to measure the distance to the moon's surface. The plan was to measure the distance before the lander reached an altitude of 3 km so that it could slowly descend by firing the engines according to the exact altitude. However, the altimeter only started its measurements 1 km above the surface. Since the lander had been descending faster than planned, it crashed into the lunar surface due to the delayed deceleration. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
06-06-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan ispace fails in bid for 1st Moon landing by Asian private firm
KYODO NEWS - 16 hours ago - 15:39 | All, Japan Japanese startup ispace Inc. failed in its attempt to become the first private firm in Asia to touch down on the Moon when its lunar lander apparently crashed on Friday, dealing a blow as it seeks to catch up with U.S. rivals following an unsuccessful inaugural mission in 2023. With touchdown planned for 4:17 a.m. on Friday, Japan time, the lander, Resilience, began descending from an altitude of around 100 kilometers but was unable to decelerate to the required speed, ispace said. "Based on the circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface," the company said, adding communication had been lost. The Tokyo-based company's CEO Takeshi Hakamada apologized to supporters at a press conference, saying the outcome was "disappointing." The company will strive to identify the cause of the failure and make another attempt in 2027 with a new lander. "We would like to catch up as quickly as possible" with U.S. companies that have already achieved the feat, he said. The company's first attempt to reach the Moon's northern hemisphere in April 2023 with a different spacecraft was unsuccessful, with the lander likely having crashed on the lunar surface. Irregularities in the altitude measurement system at that time led the lander to eventually run out of fuel during descent, resulting in a free fall to the Moon's surface. U.S. company Intuitive Machines Inc. subsequently became the first private firm in the world to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface in February 2024. Resilience, transporting a rover and equipment to carry out experiments, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 15, sharing a SpaceX rocket launch with U.S. firm Firefly Aerospace Inc.'s lunar lander. Firefly's Blue Ghost, which took a different route from the ispace lander to reach the surface, touched down on the Moon on March 2. After entering lunar orbit in May, the Japanese lander -- 2.3 meters high and 2.6 meters wide -- started descending shortly after 3 a.m., with a planned deceleration from 580 km to 2 km per hour by the firing of its engine toward the lunar surface. However, data transmission stopped at an altitude of 192 meters while the lander was moving at a faster speed than expected, possibly due to the malfunction of an altitude measurement sensor. "As of 8 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers had determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored," ispace said in a press release. "It has been decided to conclude the mission." Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed hope that the latest attempt by ispace will lead to "a further leap." "My expectation for ispace will not waver," he said on the social media platform X. Related coverage: Astronaut Onishi blasts off on mission as 3rd Japanese to lead ISS Japan firm's rover ends mission on Moon, gives up surface exploration ispace to attempt June Moon landing, would be 1st by Japan firm
Japan Forward
06-06-2025
- Science
- Japan Forward
ispace Moon Lander Breaks Up After Losing Contact
このページを 日本語 で読む Japanese space startup ispace announced on June 6 that its second lunar lander had failed in its attempted moon landing earlier that morning. The mission was aiming to become the first private Asian lunar landing. Based in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the space technology company had developed the lunar lander in-house. According to the company spokesperson, communication with Earth was lost just before the scheduled touchdown at 4:17 AM. ispace believes the lander crashed and suffered serious damage, rendering it inoperable. According to the company, the lander exited its circular lunar orbit at around 3:15 AM from an altitude of about 100 kilometers. It began a controlled descent lasting roughly one hour, firing its main and auxiliary engines to slow down and stabilize. The intended landing site was the "Sea of Ice" near the Moon's north pole. Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of space industry startup ispace Inc, speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on June 6, 2025. (©Kyodo) With constant monitoring, the lander was tracked down to an altitude of 192 meters. Soon after, however, communication was lost. Despite efforts to restore contact communications, no signal had returned by 9:00 AM. At that point, ispace concluded the spacecraft had crashed and broken apart on the lunar surface. Flight data showed a fault in the altitude measurement system, which likely delayed deceleration. However, the exact cause is still unknown. ispace's first lander also failed in 2023 due to a similar issue. Although improvements were made, a repeat malfunction may have occurred. CEO Takeshi Hakamada, speaking with a somber expression, said: "We take these two failures very seriously. We will fully investigate the cause and evaluate whether our fixes were adequate." Author: The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
Yomiuri Shimbun
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese Lunar Lander Fails to Safely Land on Moon; CEO ‘Gives Up on Mission'
The Yomiuri Shimbun Takeshi Hakamada, ispace Inc. CEO, second from left, speaks at a press conference on Friday in Tokyo. An attempt by Japanese space startup ispace Inc. to safely land its uncrewed lunar lander Resilience on the moon has failed, the company announced Friday. According to the Tokyo-based company, it was not able to establish communication with the lunar lander even after the planned touchdown time of 4:17 a.m. Japan time on the day. The lander is believed to have fallen and crashed into the lunar surface. We have given up on accomplishing the mission, said ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada at a press conference that morning.
Kyodo News
06-06-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan startup ispace fails again to put lander on Moon
KYODO NEWS - 23 minutes ago - 10:20 | All, Japan Japanese startup ispace Inc. said Friday it again failed to become the country's first private company to make a lunar landing, following its first unsuccessful attempt in 2023. The Tokyo-based company believes its lunar lander Resilience impacted the Moon's surface after failing to slow sufficiently during its descent. "We would like to catch up as quickly as possible" with U.S. companies that have already achieved the feat, CEO Takeshi Hakamada told a press conference. Resilience, transporting a rover and equipment to carry out experiments, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 15 as part of a mission to reach the Moon's northern hemisphere. It attempted a touchdown at 4:17 a.m. on Friday, Japan time. However, following the landing sequence, the company's mission control center was unable to establish communication with the lunar lander, it said. "As of 8 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored," ispace said in a press release. "It has been decided to conclude the mission." The company's first attempt to reach the Moon's northern hemisphere in April 2023 with a different spacecraft was unsuccessful. U.S. company Intuitive Machines Inc. subsequently became the first private firm in the world to successfully send a spacecraft to the lunar surface in February 2024. U.S. firm Firefly Aerospace Inc.'s lunar lander, launched in January aboard the same rocket as ispace's Resilience, touched down on the Moon on March 2. It took a different route from the ispace lander to reach the surface. Related coverage: Astronaut Onishi blasts off on mission as 3rd Japanese to lead ISS Japan firm's rover ends mission on Moon, gives up surface exploration ispace to attempt June Moon landing, would be 1st by Japan firm
