An attempt to make history by performing the first private Moon landing by a Japanese corporation appears to have failed.
Just before the Hakuto-R lunar lander was supposed to land, communication was lost.
Engineers are looking into what occurred.
The Tokyo-based iSpace had planned that the lander would disperse an exploration rover and a toymaker-built robot the size of a tennis ball.
The vessel took five months to get to its destination after being launched by a SpaceX rocket in December.
While Hakuto-R took five months to reach lunar orbit, those missions only needed a few days. This was due to its far less powerful propulsion system, which was installed to save money and gasoline.
iSpace CEO Takeshi Hakamada stated they have not confirmed communication with the lander around 25 minutes after the scheduled touchdown.
They have to assume that they could not complete the landing on the lunar surface.
A live animation of the M1 lander indicated that it would likely touchdown at about 16:40 GMT on Tuesday after getting as near to the lunar surface as 295 feet (89 meters).
Only three nations—the US, Russia, and China—have succeeded in landing a robot on the moon’s surface, all thanks to government-funded initiatives.
