 Full-size model of Hakuto-R | |
| Mission type | Lunar lander /Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | ispace |
| COSPAR ID | 2022-168A |
| SATCATno. | 54696 |
| Website | ispace-inc |
| Mission duration | 135 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Hakuto-R |
| Manufacturer | ispace |
| Launch mass | 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) |
| Dry mass | 340 kg (750 lb) |
| Dimensions | 2.3 × 2.6 m (7.5 × 8.5 ft) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 December 2022, 07:38UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5B1073-5 |
| Launch site | CCSFS,SLC-40 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Moon impact(failed landing) | |
| Impact date | 25 April 2023, 16:40 UTC |
| Impact site | Atlas crater 47°34′52″N44°05′38″E / 47.581°N 44.094°E /47.581; 44.094 |
 Hakuto-R Mission 1 patch Hakuto-R | |
Hakuto-R Mission 1 was a failedprivate Japanese uncrewedlunar landing mission built and operated byispace, which was launched in December 2022 for an attempted lunar landing in April 2023.
This first Hakuto mission was primarily a technology demonstrator and carried theEmirates Lunar Mission.[1] Travelling approximately 1,400,000 kilometres (870,000 mi), it is the furthest a privately-funded spacecraft has traveled.[2] Communication with the lander was lost during the final seconds of its April 2023 descent.[3]
The project began with engineer Andrew Barton in 2008, who sought to win theGoogle Lunar X Prize by landing a privately-funded rover on the Moon, and gathered an international group of professionals to createWhite Label Space.[3] Takeshi Hakamada would foundispace in 2010 as a Japanese branch of White Label Space[3] Many of the professionals abandoned the project by 2013, though a group of Japanese members sought to continue with the project, which was renamed from White Label Space toHakuto, based on the whiteHare of Inaba inJapanese mythology.[3][4] By 2017, ispace had secured $90 million in funding and though no teams in the Google Lunar X Prize ever launched before the 2018 deadline, the Hakuto team would continue.[3] In April 2022, iSpace was placed on theTokyo Stock Exchange, receiving a 65% increase in itsshare price within two weeks.[3]
The Hakuto-R lander was measured at 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) tall by 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) wide, with a total weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) with its payload and fuel.[5] To perform a stable landing, the lander was equipped with fourlanding legs and a mainthruster.[5]
Hakuto-R Mission 1 was launched on 11 December 2022 aboard aFalcon 9 rocket,[6] separating from the rocket 47 minutes later at a distance around 970 kilometres (600 mi) away from Earth.[3] Inside the spacecraft were payloads from theEmirates Lunar Mission roverRashid in a partnership with theMohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), along withTomy andJAXA'sSora-Q transformable lunar robot.[2][7][8] The lander also housed another payload, a music disc featuring the song ‘SORATO’ by the Japanese rock bandSakanaction, which was initially released in 2018 as a part of the Team Hakuto campaign for the Google Lunar X Prize.[9]
Using data collected from a previous lunar scanning mission, ispace determined that the mission would attempt a landing in theAtlas crater in theMare Frigoris region of the Moon; three other backup locations were selected, like those inLacus Somniorum,Sinus Iridum andOceanus Procellarum, among others.[5][9] In an effort to conserve fuel, the mission used a slower path to approach the Moon, enteringlunar orbit in March 2023.[5]
After a five-month travel time, the mission traveled 1,400,000 kilometres (870,000 mi), further than any privately-funded spacecraft, to attempt alunar landing on 25 April 2023.[2][10]
During the official live-stream,[11] among the four possible landing locations, the site inLacus Somniorum was initially shown in the animation, saying it was based on real-time telemetry from the lander; that later turned out to be misleading, since the telemetry coming from the lander was not reliable, and the actual attempted landing site was nearAtlas crater, as had been decided initially.[12][13][9]
Communication with the lander was lost during the final moments of descent to the lunar surface at 16:40 UTC (00:40 JST) on 25 April[3] Analysis determined that the lander plummeted uncontrollably when the propellant was exhausted. This happened because the onboard computer wrongly assumed the radar altimeter was faulty, and ignoring its data, misjudged the actual altitude of the spacecraft and kept hovering 5 km above the surface of the Moon.[3][14][15][16]
The crash site was later identified byNASA'sLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team on 23 May 2023.[12]
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