Tokyo company loses contact with moon lander in likely crash
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April 26, 2023
A Japanese company lost contact with its spacecraft moments before touchdown on the moon Wednesday, saying the mission had apparently failed.
Communications ceased as the lander descended the final 33 feet (10 meters), traveling around 16 mph (25 kph). Flight controllers peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as minutes went by with no word from the lander, which is presumed to have crashed.
"We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface," said Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of the company, ispace.
If it had landed, the company would have been the...
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