NASA orbiter spots 'graveyard' of Japan's lander which crashed on Moon in April

Japan-based private firm ispace, on April 25, said that its lander most likely crashed onto the Moon while landing, and this has now been confirmed. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has photographed the impact site which shows prominent pieces of debris that were produced after the lander HAKUTO-R's crash. The lander was launched on December 11 by SpaceX last year and entered the lunar orbit after a seven-month-long journey. Had it successfully landed on the Moon, Japan would have become the fourth country after the US, USSR and China to safely land on the lunar surface.

HAKUTO-R debris spotted on the Moon

(Impact site of HAKUTO-R lander; Image: NASA)

NASA says the crash site was found after the LRO took images before and after the landing attempt. On April 26, the orbiter acquired 10 images around the landing site and found four large pieces of debris. When compared to the pre-landing pictures, the new images featured several bright pixels suggesting that it could be a small crater or debris from the HAKUTO lander's body.

(Artistic representation of HAKUTO lander; Image: ispace)

"This site will be further analyzed over the coming months as LRO has the opportunity to make additional observations of the site under various lighting conditions and viewing angles," NASA said in an official statement. According to ispace officials, the lander went into a free fall when it was around 5 km above the lunar surface. The mission controllers traced the issue to a software glitch prior to the landing. ispace CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada said that the company is still on track to attempt another moon landing in 2024 and a third attempt in 2025. The HAKUTO lander was also carrying a small rover 'Rashid' by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre of the UAE which was supposed to operate for one lunar day (14 Earth days).