Japan’s latest lunar ambition seems to have hit a roadblock. The Resilience spacecraft, built by private firm ispace, is believed to have crashed during its landing attempt on the Moon’s Mare Frigoris early Friday morning. Signal lost in final moments Everything seemed on track as the Resilience lander began its descent from a 100 km lunar orbit. Hopes were high—it was set to be the first Japanese private spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. Mission control, along with global viewers, watched the tense landing sequence via ispace’s livestream. The lander successfully decelerated and adjusted its angle as it approached just 5 km above the surface. But in a sudden twist, telemetry data vanished during the final descent, and the livestream ended without explanation. Unconfirmed but concerning Amateur radio operators also reported a sudden loss of signal at the expected landing time. While ispace hasn’t confirmed the mission’s fate, signs point to a likely crash. This incident echoes ispace’s previous lunar attempt in 2023, which similarly ended in failure after a communication blackout during descent. Dreams on hold, but not over CEO Takeshi Hakamada had hoped this mission would be a major step toward building a sustainable cislunar economy. The lander was carrying scientific payloads, a small rover, and equipment from international partners. Though this setback stings, it underscores just how tough lunar landings are—even for well-funded and innovative private companies. The world now waits as ispace investigates and works to uncover what went wrong in Resilience’s final moments.
