Ispace Fails To Land On The Moon, Japan Ulung Makes History

Illustration of the landing of spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. (Anadolu/as)

JAKARTA - Ispace Inc announced that they failed to become the first Japanese private company to successfully land a vehicle on the surface of the Moon.

Quoted by ANTARA, Friday, June 6, the start-up in Tokyo said their ride, Resilience, most likely hit the Moon's surface after failing to reduce speed during landing.

Earlier on the same day, ispace reported losing contact with Resilience as the ride attempted to land in the northern region of the Moon.

Resilience was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on January 15. The mission carries a rover (a rover on the surface of a celestial body) and experimental equipment, and is scheduled to land on Friday after 04.00 Japanese time (02.00 WIB).

The landing was the second attempt in space after their failure to land a different vehicle in the same lunar region in April 2023.

US Company Intuitive Machines Inc. became the first private company in the world to successfully land a vehicle on the Moon in February 2024.

Another US company, Firefly Aerospace Inc., managed to do the same on March 2. Their spacecraft were launched on the same rocket as the ispace, but traveled a different path to reach the Moon's surface.