Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Japanese ispace announces failure of lunar landing

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 Apr 2023 23:53
3 Min Read

The Japanese space start-up, ispace, attributes the failure to the loss of communication with the lander, Hakuto.

  • x
  • Staff watch the livestream of HAKUTO-R private lunar exploration program on screen during the lunar landing event Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, in Tokyo. (AP)
    Staff watching the live stream of HAKUTO-R private lunar exploration program on-screen during the lunar landing event Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, in Tokyo (AP)

After having launched, on Tuesday, a lander, Hakuto, to the moon, the Japanese space start-up, ispace, announced on Wednesday that it had lost all communication with the spacecraft and considered the lunar mission a failure.

A company official, about 25 minutes following the expected landing time, noted, "We have not confirmed communication with the lander," adding that "we had to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface."

In Japanese, Hakuto means "white rabbit" and refers to the Japanese folklore that a white rabbit lives on the Moon.

According to company officials, ispace will continue to attempt to establish communications with Hakuto. The spacecraft, which carried payloads from several countries, including a lunar rover from the United Arab Emirates, left a trail of data that was acquired by the company up until the failed landing. According to ispace CEO and founder, Takeshi Hakamada, the company will examine said data in order to understand what had happened.

Earlier this month, Hakamada had said, "What we have accomplished so far is already a great achievement, and we are already applying lessons learned from this flight to our future missions," adding that he is "looking forward to witnessing this historic day, marking the beginning of a new era of commercial lunar missions."

The lander has been in lunar orbit since last month after launching in December on one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, carrying lunar rovers and a miniature Japanese model of just eight centimeters jointly developed by Japan's space agency with toy manufacturer Takara Tomy.

Related News

China lands on moon's far side in historic sample-retrieval mission

China reveals plans for manned lunar expedition

1,000 people on the moon by 2040

Ispace claims that it "aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon."

Hakamada described the mission as laying "the groundwork for unleashing the Moon's potential and transforming it into a robust and vibrant economic system."

As of yet, only the US, China, and Russia have succeeded in placing a robot on the Moon's surface through government-funded programs. Japan announced last year that they would jointly work with the US to send a Japanese astronaut to the Moon by the end of the decade.

Read next: US vows to defend space with Japan, deploy mobile Marines

The UAE is closely monitoring the Hakuto-R Mission 1 since its own Rashid rover is aboard the lander as part of its aim of expanding the nation's space program. 

The UAE is not a total newcomer to the space field, as it previously sent a probe into Mars' orbit back in 2021, and if its Rashid rover reaches the Moon successfully, it will be marked as the Arab world's first Moon mission.

Ispace believes that the Moon can hold a population of 1,000 people by 2040 and expects 10,000 more to visit each year, as it is currently planning a second mission for next year entailing both a lunar landing and the deployment of its unique and own rover.

Read more: China provided lunar soil to Russia for research during Putin's visit

  • lunar exploration
  • Japan
  • Hakuto
  • ispace

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS