Hakuto-R1 lands on Moon but ceases communications at touchdown
Hakuto-R1’s planned landing site is in Atlas Crater.
According to the Hakuto-R1 engineering team, the lander provided full data and maintained communications right up until touchdown, but at that point they lost contact with the spacecraft.
The loss of data at landing suggests something went wrong at touchdown. That they were able to maintain contact until then, and the data appeared correct, suggests that the spacecraft descended properly into Atlas Crater, but then touched down on some rough ground that either caused it to topple, or damaged it on contact.
This remains speculation however. We will have to wait for a full update from Ispace.
This was a engineering mission to test the company’s spacecraft design and its ability to operate a lunar mission. The failure at landing means it achieved about 8 to 9 of its 10 milestones. How this final failure will effect its next mission as well as its contract with NASA remains unclear.
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Hakuto-R1’s planned landing site is in Atlas Crater.
According to the Hakuto-R1 engineering team, the lander provided full data and maintained communications right up until touchdown, but at that point they lost contact with the spacecraft.
The loss of data at landing suggests something went wrong at touchdown. That they were able to maintain contact until then, and the data appeared correct, suggests that the spacecraft descended properly into Atlas Crater, but then touched down on some rough ground that either caused it to topple, or damaged it on contact.
This remains speculation however. We will have to wait for a full update from Ispace.
This was a engineering mission to test the company’s spacecraft design and its ability to operate a lunar mission. The failure at landing means it achieved about 8 to 9 of its 10 milestones. How this final failure will effect its next mission as well as its contract with NASA remains unclear.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
Is the landing site at a location where they can get an image?
The Koreans and Scots may have improved the landing-problem on airless worlds, generally. Unfortunately they solved the problem today. A bit late.
I heard no reference in the introductory briefing to any prior attempt to survey or otherwise evaluate the surface at the target landing area. Nor did I hear any mention of any onboard radar or photo sensors to avoid landing in rough terrain.
In light of this, it is reasonable to conclude that the landing was essentially “blind”. Thus Hakuto could have simply dropped onto a boulder or other form of extremely uneven surface, and tumbled over.
The above question about whether the site could now be photographed after the landing raises the obvious question: could it or should it have been photographed beforehand?!
Interesting discussion of the loss of signal was five minutes after the planned touchdown .
Looking at the AMSAT-DL signal from Bochum Observatory, was the descent path wrong or did they plan the wrong time?
I don’t know if I trust the telemetry. 1 kph = .27777 meter/sec so I think it came in hot and bounced or spatted. I would be helpful if someone with the skill to simulate this reentry using the their telemetry for a sanity check.
Cameras images of the decent would have permitted mission control to send steering commands up to 5 seconds before touchdown to avoid boulders since it only takes 1.22 seconds for radio signals to reach the moon 1 way. Better luck next time.
Release I just read from iSpace says they monitored cessation of burn, followed by rapid increase in descent rate, followed by end of signal. Not a good look.
Ray Van Dune: Can you provide the link?
iSpace statement on Hakuto landing attempt:
https://spaceref.com/science-and-exploration/ispace-statement-on-the-hakuto-r-lunar-landing-attempt/
Did it run out of gas?
“Based on the currently available data, the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, confirmed that the lander was in a vertical position as it carried out the final approach to the lunar surface. Shortly after the scheduled landing time, no data was received indicating a touchdown. ispace engineers monitored the estimated remaining propellant reached at the lower threshold and shortly afterward the descent speed rapidly increased. After that, the communication loss happened. Based on this, it has been determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing on the Moon’s surface.”