By Express News Service
CAPE CANAVERAL: A private Japanese moon lander went into free-fall while trying to land on the lunar surface last month, company officials said on Friday, blaming a software issue and a last-minute switch in the touchdown location.
The spacecraft belonging to the company ispace was originally supposed to land on a flat plain. But the target was changed to a crater before December’s launch. The crater’s steep sides apparently confused the onboard software, and the 2-metre spacecraft went into a free-fall from less than 5 kilometres up, slamming into the lunar surface.
The estimated speed at impact was more than 100 metres per second, said the company’s chief technology officer, Ryo Ujiie. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed the crash site the next day as it flew overhead, revealing a field of debris as well as lunar soil hurled aside by the impact.
Computer simulations done in advance of the landing attempt did not incorporate the terrain of the new landing site, Ujiie said. CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said the company is still on track to attempt another moon landing in 2024, and that all the lessons learned will be incorporated into the next try. A third landing attempt is planned for 2025.
If successful, ispace would have been the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon. Only three governments have achieved that: Russia, the United States and China.
Named Hakuto, Japanese for white rabbit, the spacecraft and its experiments were insured. The United Arab Emirates had a mini lunar rover on board that was lost in the crash.
(With agency inputs)
CAPE CANAVERAL: A private Japanese moon lander went into free-fall while trying to land on the lunar surface last month, company officials said on Friday, blaming a software issue and a last-minute switch in the touchdown location.
The spacecraft belonging to the company ispace was originally supposed to land on a flat plain. But the target was changed to a crater before December’s launch. The crater’s steep sides apparently confused the onboard software, and the 2-metre spacecraft went into a free-fall from less than 5 kilometres up, slamming into the lunar surface.
The estimated speed at impact was more than 100 metres per second, said the company’s chief technology officer, Ryo Ujiie. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed the crash site the next day as it flew overhead, revealing a field of debris as well as lunar soil hurled aside by the impact.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Computer simulations done in advance of the landing attempt did not incorporate the terrain of the new landing site, Ujiie said. CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said the company is still on track to attempt another moon landing in 2024, and that all the lessons learned will be incorporated into the next try. A third landing attempt is planned for 2025.
If successful, ispace would have been the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon. Only three governments have achieved that: Russia, the United States and China.
Named Hakuto, Japanese for white rabbit, the spacecraft and its experiments were insured. The United Arab Emirates had a mini lunar rover on board that was lost in the crash.
(With agency inputs)
