HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Impact Site Photographed by NASA
The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 impact site on the moon.
"We are already developing Mission 2 and Mission 3 concurrently and have prepared a foundation that can maintain this continuity."
Takeshi Hakamada, ispace.
The ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander was launched on Dec. 11, 2022, a privately funded spacecraft planned to land on the lunar surface. After a several-month journey to the Moon, the spacecraft started a controlled descent to the surface to land near Atlas crater. The ispace team announced the following day that an anomaly occurred, and the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander had not safely touched down on the surface.
On April 26, 2023, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft acquired 10 images around the landing site with its Narrow Angle Cameras. The images covered a region roughly 25 miles by 28 miles. Using an image acquired before the landing attempt, the LRO Camera science team began searching for the lander.
From the temporal image pair, the LRO Camera team identified an unusual surface change near the nominal landing site. The image shows at least four prominent pieces of debris and several small changes (47.581 degrees North latitude, 44.094 degrees East longitude).
Bright Pixels Identify HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Impact Site
The central feature in the image above shows several bright pixels in the upper left and several dark pixels in the lower right. This is the opposite of nearby boulders, suggesting that this could be a small crater or different parts of the lander body. The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 impact site will be further analyzed over the coming months as LRO has the opportunity to make additional observations of the site under various lighting conditions and viewing angles.
“Although we do not expect to complete the lunar landing at this time, we believe that we have fully accomplished the significance of this mission, having acquired a great deal of data and experience by being able to execute the landing phase. What is important is to feed this knowledge and learning back to Mission 2 and beyond so that we can make the most of this experience,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace, announcing the loss of the spacecraft in April.
“To this end, we are already developing Mission 2 and Mission 3 concurrently and have prepared a foundation that can maintain this continuity. I would like to thank once again all the employees who have contributed to this mission from its inception to the present, all the families who have continued to support it, and all the shareholders, HAKUTO-R partners, customers, suppliers, and many others who have continued to believe in ispace’s vision. We will keep moving forward.”
(Source: NASA and ispace. NASA images)