Laser Glitch Blamed for Ispace’s Second Moon Lander Crash

In a significant setback for private lunar exploration, Japanese company ispace has revealed that a faulty laser navigation tool was the root cause of its “Resilience” lander’s crash into the moon earlier this month. The announcement came from Tokyo on Tuesday, marking the second consecutive lunar landing failure for the ambitious space firm within two years.

The ill-fated Resilience mission had aimed for a precise touchdown in Mare Frigoris, the Sea of Cold, located in the moon’s far north. However, the mission met its demise when the lander’s laser range finder, crucial for measuring its distance to the lunar surface, proved sluggish to activate and provide accurate data. According to company officials, contact was lost when Resilience was just seconds from impact, descending at a rapid 138 feet (42 meters) per second, before ultimately crashing five seconds later.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provided stark visual confirmation of the accident, relaying images of the wreckage site last week. This incident echoes ispace’s previous attempt in 2023, which also ended in a crash during the final descent phase, though that failure was attributed to software issues.

These back-to-back losses underscore the immense challenges faced by private entities venturing into lunar landings. Of seven recent attempts by commercial companies, only one has achieved full success: Firefly Aerospace’s “Blue Ghost” lander, which touched down triumphantly in March after sharing a SpaceX rocket ride from Florida with Resilience in January. Beyond Firefly, successful lunar landings have been limited to five nations – the Soviet Union, the U.S., China, India, and Japan – with only the U.S. having placed astronauts on the lunar surface.

Despite the significant setbacks, ispace remains undeterred. CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada emphasized the company’s commitment to pushing forward, stating that ispace “has not stepped down in the face of setbacks” and is determined to regain customer trust. The company is already planning its third moon landing attempt for 2027, with NASA’s cooperation, and a fourth mission is also on the horizon. These future endeavors will incorporate additional tests and improvements, projected to add over $10 million (1.5 billion yen) to development costs. Ispace also confirmed that outside experts would join the accident review, and the company would collaborate more closely with the Japanese Space Agency on technical matters, signaling a robust effort to learn from their recent experiences and pave the way for future success.

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