Japan’s private space company, ispace, once again failed in an attempt at a lunar landing with its unmanned lander, Resilience.
This failure marks the second unsuccessful attempt by the company on Friday, June 6, 2025, which has been followed by a botched moon landing, which resulted in a crash on the planet’s surface.
Resilience lander hits moon
The lander lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January 2025 and spent several months travelling via a fuel-efficient trajectory ahead of entering lunar orbit in May.
As Resilience started from an altitude of 100 kilometres, early data indicated a seamless operation. However, telemetry signals were lost after the craft ignited its engines at the 20-kilometre mark.
According to ispace, a crucial laser rangefinder—responsible for measuring the distance to the lunar surface—was postponed in obtaining valid data.
This problem impeded proper deceleration and caused the failure. Despite the failure, the company remains committed to enhancing its technology for future lunar missions.
A hard landing means Resilience hit the moon's surface faster than expected.
The lander expectedly failed to survive to start its mission or release ESA’s Tenacious rover.
