Astronauts
Astronomy
Constellation
Deep Sky Objects
Moon
Stargazing
Telescope
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Accuracy & Corrections Terms & Condition
COPYRIGHT. All contents of on the site comporting the StarLust branding are Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.
STARLUST.ORG / DEEP SKY OBJECTS

Japan's ispace misses the mark again as its lunar lander crashes into Moon — mission ends in failure

ispace has not been able to establish communication with Resilience yet.
PUBLISHED JUN 6, 2025
Resilience lander is moving in low Lunar orbit. (Cover Image Source: X | ispace)
Resilience lander is moving in low Lunar orbit. (Cover Image Source: X | ispace)

Japanese company ispace sent out its "Resilience" spacecraft on an uncrewed lunar mission to achieve a touchdown in the Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold") region of the moon. The lander was expected to succeed on June 5, 2025, at 3:17 p.m. EDT or at 4:17 a.m. on June 6, Japan Standard Time. However, telemetry from the lander halted one minute and 45 seconds prior to the planned touchdown, as per Space.com. This equipment malfunction led to the lander crashing into the lunar surface.

A view of the Apollo 9 Lunar Module (LM),
A view of the Apollo 9 Lunar Module (LM), "Spider," in a lunar landing configuration, as photographed from the Command and Service Modules. (Representative Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)

This was a disappointing failure for the ispace engineers after their first failed landing attempt in April 2023. Data before communication was lost indicated that the lander's laser rangefinder, a sensor designed to measure the distance to the moon’s surface, faced some delay. It was delayed to obtain “valid measurement values” of the probe's distance to the lunar surface, as per CNN. “As a result, the lander was unable to decelerate sufficiently to reach the required speed for the planned lunar landing,” ispace officials noted, assuming that the lander had a hard landing.



 

Resilience had been circling the moon in a stable orbit and had successfully descended to about 12 miles above the surface. It had “successfully fired its main engine as planned to begin deceleration” and was confirmed to have a nearly vertical orientation before data was cut off. The lander was expected to finish a pitch-over or roll maneuver to change its horizontal position and be upright in alignment with the moon. This was when the altitude measurement faltered, and this resembled the 2023 Hakuto-R spacecraft of the company that failed at a lunar landing.



 

The software of Hakuto-R had miscalculated the altitude attempt due to an error, which led to a crash, but that was not the case for Resilience. “The data that we’ve been looking at — it wasn’t exactly the same as we have seen from the first mission,” stated Ispace’s Chief Technology Officer, Ryo Ujiie, about the data received by mission control. Ispace’s CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, stated that the mission was officially over as they stopped establishing contact with the lander. The team was focused on understanding their errors and applying them to their next attempt.

Representative image of Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot, stands near a scientific experiment on the lunar surface. Man's first landing on the Moon occurred on July 20, 1969 (Image source: Getty | Photo credits: NASA)
Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot, stands near a scientific experiment on the lunar surface, July 20, 1969 (Representative Image source: Getty Images | Photo credits: NASA)


 

Ispace has not given up on its mission to land a private lunar lander on the moon’s surface, and they have set down a budget for a third attempt. "First, we have to figure out the root cause for the phenomenon we observed, and then we have to utilize it in Mission 3 and Mission 4," which would likely include the Apex 1.0 craft, according to Hakamada. Since the Resilience did not make its four-point "soft landing," the spacecraft would not be able to achieve its two-week functions, as per Space.com.  Hence, Mission 3 and Mission 4 have been scheduled for 2027, at the earliest.



 

"We know it's not going to be easy," stated ispace director and CFO Jumpei Nozaki during a press conference. "But it's hard. It has some meaning and significance in trying," they added. An apology was extended to the 80,000 supporters and stockholders. The Resilience lander was the company’s second uncrewed spacecraft, and a successful touchdown would have made it the first non-U.S. company to complete a controlled moon landing, as per The Guardian. Since its failure, the next mission placed high hopes on its Apex 1.0, which weighed two tons more than Resilience and could be more capable, per Space.com.

MORE ON STAR LUST
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope recently captured an image of the spiral galaxy IC 758, located 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
1 day ago
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching in 2027, will use gravitational lensing, a phenomenon Einstein predicted over a century ago, to study the mystery of dark matter.
1 day ago
Essential for galactic evolution, mergers impact the layout of gas, the motion of stars, and a galaxy's overall structure, ultimately leading to greater stellar mass.
2 days ago
Scientists are shedding new light on Cosmic Noon, a crucial era 10 to 12 billion years in the past when stars formed at rates 10 to 100 times greater than what we see now.
2 days ago
Climate change has amplified wildfires across Canada and the western US.
3 days ago
By the night of June 19, Mars officially entered the Spring Triangle, and it'll continue to skim its lower edge until mid-September.
4 days ago
Looking ahead, this costly dilemma is expected to intensify dramatically, with the number of satellites in orbit predicted to surge to tens of thousands in just a few years.
Jun 15, 2025
This ambitious project, spearheaded by ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab, plans to deploy a vast network of 2,800 satellites.
Jun 15, 2025
Satellite operators that function under the American government are signing massive international deals to support foreign space markets.
Jun 15, 2025
These data are crucial for scientists to understand the Sun's cyclical activity, specifically how it shifts between intense and quieter phases.
Jun 14, 2025
The astronauts who witnessed the unique sight from space said that they perceived it to be some kind of colorful cloud cluster.
Jun 14, 2025
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated that a primary mission objective is to successfully land and recover the booster.
Jun 14, 2025
The delay is due to the detection of a 'new pressure signature' in the Zvezda service module, a part of the station.
Jun 13, 2025
A year ago, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked with the ISS, and a year later, its next flight is still delayed, as per NASA.
Jun 13, 2025
Dark locations and temperate environments will allow people on Earth to witness the Milky Way in its best element this month.
Jun 12, 2025
SpaceX announced on June 10 (EDT) that the delay is due to a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak found during booster inspections after a static fire test.
Jun 12, 2025
The largest map of the universe was created as part of a scientific collaboration that cataloged an array of galaxies in the cosmos.
Jun 11, 2025
Astronauts use a small, tethered doll as a zero-gravity indicator; when it floats freely, it signals the crew has safely reached low Earth orbit.
Jun 11, 2025
The Ax-4 mission is Axiom Space's fourth crewed trip to the ISS and will use a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on its very first flight.
Jun 10, 2025
The Kuiper 2 mission will launch 27 Amazon internet satellites on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday, June 13, at 2:29 p.m. EDT.
Jun 10, 2025