The Japanese company ispace, which launched the Hakuto-R module with the Emirati lunar rover Rashid on board, announced the failure of the lunar mission.
“The success of the ninth stage of the mission is no longer achievable”, RIA Novosti quotes a statement from a private space company.
The company said that moments before the unit’s planned descent to the surface of the Moon, literally 10 meters from the Earth satellite, communication with the module disappeared, although it was supposed to transmit a signal after the landing.
Experts suggest that near the lunar surface, the module rolled over, fell and exploded, making a hard landing. Engine fuel level data speaks in favor of this version.
“iSpace engineers monitored the level of propulsion fuel, the rate of its decrease increased dramatically. After that, there was a loss of communication. Based on this data, a high probability was determined that the lander made a hard landing on the lunar surface,” the company noted.
It was previously reported that the Japanese Hakuto-R module with the Arab lunar rover disappeared from the radar of the Nihonbashi control center 10 meters from the moon on April 25.
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