The Japanese space module Hakuto-R M2 crashed on Thursday while attempting to land on the moon due to excessive speed, according to a statement from the developer iSpace.
The spacecraft was scheduled to land in the north of the moon in the Sea of Cold at 22:17 Moscow time, delivering a five-kilogram mini-rover called Tenacious and scientific research equipment to the surface of earth’s natural satellite.
This is the second unsuccessful lunar mission for the Japanese company. In April 2023, the Hakuto-R M1 spacecraft also crashed while landing on the surface of the moon. During the descent, engineers recorded a low amount of remaining fuel, the probe’s speed increased during landing, and then specialists lost contact with it.
Hakuto-R M2 entered lunar orbit on May 7. The launch of the new Japanese module was carried out together with the Blue Ghost spacecraft from the American development company Firefly Aerospace on January 15 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Blue Ghost made a successful landing on the moon on March 2.
