NASA Spacecraft Captures ispace's Moon Mishap: Resilience Crashes on Mare Frigoris
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed the crash site of ispace's Resilience lunar lander, which went down in the volcanic region of Mare Frigoris. This marks a significant setback for ispace's mission to become the first private company to land on the moon. The mission aimed to demonstrate lunar landing technology and deploy client payloads, yet ended prematurely. The images depict a dark smudge surrounded by a bright halo, as analyzed by lunar scientist Mark Robinson. While ispace plans a future news conference to discuss the mishap, the cause was initially attributed to delays in laser rangefinder measurements leading to insufficient deceleration. The public and investors remain divided on the implications for future private lunar missions.
Jun 21