"Catastrophic descent": Spacecraft carrying Europe's inaugural lunar rover, as operated by Japanese company, likely obliterated, firm confirms.
space's No-Frills Breakdown:
The privately-funded Japanese moon lander, Resilience, met a crash landing on the Moon's Sea of Cold (Mare Frigoris) on June 5th, 2025. The disaster came as a sudden loss of communication during the attempted landing, leaving the smaller lunar rover, Tenacious, and other payloads stranded. As of the morning of June 6th, ispace, the Japanese company behind the operation, acknowledged the flight's fate, declaring the mission over [1].
This Mare Frigoris misadventure marks yet another stepping-stone in the ongoing lunar exploration race, with previous players such as Israel's Beresheet suffering similar misfortunes [1]. Despite the setbacks, interested parties – NASA, companies, and agencies alike – continue spearheading moon missions, with hopes of taming the cosmic terrain and uncovering its secrets.
Resilience's mission had originated from Earth on January 15th, 2025, hitching a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center [3]. The lunar rover, Tenacious, had been Europe's first ever interstellar induvidual, standing at 21 inches long and weighing a mere 11 pounds. The real showstopper, however, was "The Moonhouse," a tiny 4-inch-tall, red spaceabode dreamt up by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg in 1999 [4].
Is it the end for lunar travel? Not at all. ispace has already announced plans for a fresh mission in 2027, aiming to capture the Moon once more and move forward [1].
Sources:[1] https://www.space.com/10562-ispace-resilience-lunar-rover-mission-crash-failed-landing.html[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/private-japanese-moon-lander-loses-contact-attempted-lunar-landing-2022-06-07/[3] https://www.space.com/47841-islunar-rover.html[4] https://www.space.com/28870-first-house-on-the-moon.html
- The setback in environmental-science, particularly space and astronomy, has triggered renewed efforts in technological advancements, as NASA, companies, and agencies worldwide continue their pursuit of lunar exploration, aiming to overcome the challenges faced and unravel the secrets of the cosmic terrain.
- In the realm of general news, Ispeace, the Japanese company spearheading lunar missions, has announced its intentions to attempt another moon landing in 2027, demonstrating resilience and determination in the face of previous mission failures, such as the one experienced by Resilience in the Mare Frigoris.
