A private Japanese company’s attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon ended unsuccessfully Tuesday.
iSpace followed the spacecraft’s final approach to the moon on a live internet feed. The anticipated landing time of 11:40 a.m. Central time came and went without confirmation.
Only three other countries have landed on the moon, the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. Israel and India attempted to land crafts on the moon in 2019, but they crashed.
A SpaceX rocket blasted off on December 11 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, setting Tuesday’s attempt into motion. The three-month trip to the moon, which is 239,000 miles from Earth, ensued.
The Rashid rover was developed in the United Arab Emirates, the first Arab-built lunar spacecraft.
The lander, Hakuto-R, was built by Japan’s iSpace, which attempted the landing for profit, not under the flag of one country. It plans two other related missions, one in 2024 and another in 2025.
A recent Twitter photo from iSpace showed the Earth from behind the moon.
