ispace Hakuto-R Lunar lander

Main article: The Moon

2023: Cause of lander crash - faulty software

On May 26, 2023, ispace released the results of an investigation into the causes of the crash of the Hakuto-R lunar lander. According to experts, the accident occurred due to the fault of the onboard software.

It is reported that on April 26, 2023 at 00:40 Japanese standard time (April 25 at 18:40 Moscow time), the Hakuto-R module began descent from an altitude of about 100 km above the surface. Moon Analysis of the collected data suggests that the device has fully fulfilled the established braking program, reducing the speed to a target level of less than 1 m/s at an altitude of about 5 km from a natural Earth satellite. However, then there was a failure.

Hakuto-R lander

The fact is that the previously planned Hakuto-R landing area was changed in 2021 - after the completion of the final project review. Specialists conducted a number of simulations to ensure descent and landing. However, as it turned out, the laid down instructions did not properly take into account the terrain on the navigation route. As a result, the software incorrectly estimated the flight altitude of the module during landing.

In particular, during the descent, due to the peculiarities of the lunar terrain, the onboard sensors of the device recorded a sharp drop in height. The navigation system considered the received data erroneous and began to issue instructions in accordance with pre-laid values, and not taking into account actual measurements. As a consequence, the lander estimated its own altitude to be zero, concluding that it was already on the moon. However, it was actually about 5 km from the surface. The device continued to decline at low speed until the propulsion system ran out of fuel. After that, a controlled descent became impossible, and the lander went into free fall, which led to the crash.^[1]

2022: Sending the Hakuto-R lander to the moon

No sooner had the Orion lunar module of the American Artemis 1 program returned to Earth, which had safely splashed in the Pacific Ocean and had already been taken aboard by a US Navy landing craft than Japan went to the moon. This became known on December 14, 2022.

Hakuto-R

On December 11, 2022, the company's Falcon 9 rocket SpaceX sent to the satellite the company's Hakuto-R lander to our natural planet. ispace The module carries two lunar rovers - one Japanese owned, Japan Aerospace Agency JAXA the second owned UAE and called Rashid Rover. Also on board is an experimental solar battery from the company, NGK Spark Plug several 360-degree cameras the Canadian companies Canadensys Aerospace, a transforming robot from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and a computing device AI from the Canadian company Mission Control Space Services.

Hakuto-R Flight Diagram

This is the first time a Japanese lander will be on the moon. At the same time, Japan has extensive plans - the ispace company plans to create a settlement for 1000 inhabitants on the moon by 2040. To do this, with the help of Hakuto-R, microlunes will be transferred to search for water, and then building materials and equipment, and after 18 years, the first commercial business center is expected to appear on the moon.

In the space business, ispace is not a newcomer. The company appeared in 2007 thanks to the Google's Lunar Xprize competition. In 2017, the company raised about $90 million to place billboards on the moon. Money for future billboards was allocated by Japan Airlines, Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings and some other companies. Ispace sees its goal as the creation and development of the "lunar economy."

As for microlunes to search for water, they are planned to be delivered to the surface of our Earth's natural satellite in 2024 during the second Hakuto-R flight to the moon.

Experts expect that in addition to the "lunar economy," in the future there will be "lunar IT," adapted to the harsh conditions of the satellite of our Earth^[2].

Шаблон:Theme Space

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