Laser Rangefinder Issues Cited in Ispace Lunar Lander Crashes
TL;DR
Japanese company ispace's second lunar lander, Resilience, crashed due to a hardware problem with its laser rangefinder, which failed to provide timely altitude data during descent, leading to a high-velocity impact near the planned landing site. The company plans to improve sensor testing and consider alternative technologies for future missions scheduled for 2027.
- Laser rangefinder problems blamed for second ispace lunar lander crash SpaceNews
- Japanese company blames laser tool for its 2nd crash landing on the moon AP News
- NASA Spots Fresh Lunar Impact From Crashed Moon Mission SciTechDaily
- NASA spacecraft around the moon photographs the crash site of a Japanese company's lunar lander Phys.org
- NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site NASA (.gov)
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