A private lunar lander from Japan is closing in on the moon, aiming for a touchdown in the unexplored far north with a mini rover.
The moon landing attempt by Tokyo-based company ispace on Friday Japan time is the latest entry in the rapidly expanding commercial lunar rush.
The encore comes two years after the companyโs first moonshot ended in a crash landing, giving rise to the name Resilience for its successor lander. Resilience holds a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt as well as a Swedish artistโs toy-size red housethat will be lowered onto the moonโs dusty surface.
Long the province of governments, the moon became a target of private outfits in 2019, with more flops than wins along the way.
Watch the live feed, provided by the launch-pad.
Update:
Japanese company loses communications with lunar lander: live stream
A private lunar lander from Japan crashed while attempting a touchdown Friday, the latest casualty in the commercial rush to the moon.
