NASA’s LRO probe has photographed the site of the failed landing of the HAKUTO-R mission on the Moon, here are the photos
The lunar lander ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 was launched on December 11, 2022, a privately funded spacecraft designed to land on the lunar surface. After a journey of several months, the spacecraft got underway a controlled descent to the surface to land near Atlas Crater. The following day the iSpace team announced that an anomaly had occurred and that the HAKUTO-R mission 1 lunar lander had not landed safely on the surface of the Moon.
On April 26, 2023, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured 10 images around the Moon landing site with its Narrow Angle Cameras. The images cover a region approximately 40km by 45km. Using an image captured prior to the landing attempt, LRO Camera’s science team began searching for the lander. An unusual surface change has been identified near the landing site. The following images show at least four pieces of debris and a small crater or different parts of the lander’s body. This site will be further investigated in the coming months as LRO has the opportunity to make further observations of the site under various lighting conditions and viewing angles.
Source: NASA