Japan's ispace Lunar Lander Crashes: Mission Control's Tense Moments

Japan's ispace suffers second lunar landing failure. A private Japanese company's ambitious attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon has ended in failure, marking the second setback for the Tokyo-based venture. The ispace lander, carrying a small rover, lost communication shortly before its scheduled landing time on Friday. Mission control footage shows the tense moments as engineers waited anxiously for confirmation. Takeshi Hakamada, ispace's CEO, later issued an apology, stating, "We are continuously getting this announcement from MCC, I think." The descent appeared to be going well until less than two minutes before the planned landing. The failure is a blow to Japan's burgeoning space program and the broader commercial effort to establish a lunar presence. Despite the setback, the resilience shown by the ispace team underscores the challenges and determination inherent in space exploration.