A private Japanese space company, ispace, is likely to make history today, April 25. The company will attempt to land on the moon for the first time later today and if successful. public, they will become the first private organization to achieve this feat. So far, the Moon landing has been an achievement that only government-backed space organizations have been able to successfully accomplish. The historic mission will see the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander gradually begin landing on the lunar surface in just a few hours.
According to the report, the Hakuto-R lander’s landing time was 1640 GMT (12:40 PM EDT, 10:10 PM IST). Landing attempts will begin at 15:40 GMT (11:40 AM EDT, 9:10 PM IST) and will continue for an hour to ensure a well-controlled landing. The mission’s main landing site is Atlas Crater located on the southeastern edge of the Mare Frigoris (Cold Sea).
“If conditions change, there are three alternative landing sites and depending on the location, the landing date may change. Alternative landing dates, subject to operational status, are April 26, May 1 and May 3, 2023,” ispace stated on April 12.
Ispace to try to land on historic Moon
The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander is just over two meters tall and weighs about 340 kilograms. It was launched in December 2022 using a space Falcon 9 rocket. The lander traveled to a distance of about 100 kilometers from the moon’s surface and placed itself in a circular orbit around it. During this time, the lander captured some stunning images of the Moon and Earth.
Despite all the excitement, success is not guaranteed. In April 2019, the Israeli organization SpaceIL tried to do the same but the lander ended up crashing to the surface of the Moon. It remains to be seen whether ispace will eventually reach this milestone.
If you want to watch the live stream of the Hakuto-R lander’s Moon landing attempt, then you can visit the official YouTube ispace’s channel. Alternatively, you can simply click this link. The live stream will start at 1500 GMT (11 AM EDT, 8:30 PM IST).
