A private Japanese moon lander went into free-fall while trying to land on the lunar surface last month, company officials said Friday, blaming a software issue and a last-minute switch in the touchdown location.
The analysis reveals that the cause of the Hakuto-R M1's failure to make a soft landing was due to the software, especially in the phase just prior to lunar landing
The private Japanese moon lander, Hakuto-R, crashed on the lunar surface on April 25. Launched by Tokyo-based space company, ispace, Hakuto-R Mission 1 launched from aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on December 11, 2022, and was scheduled to land on the Moon at about 12:40 pm ET on