Japan Will Attempt To Land on the Moon Today – IOTW Report

Japan Will Attempt To Land on the Moon Today

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An attempt at the first privately funded lunar landing is about to take place, and you can watch a livestream of the effort on Tuesday.

Japan’s iSpace launched its Hakuto-R Series 1 lander to the moon aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December, and since then it’s been heading for insertion into a lunar orbit, which it achieved on March 21.

“During the sequence, the lander will perform a braking burn, firing its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit,” iSpace said on its website. “Utilizing a series of pre-set commands, the lander will adjust its attitude and reduce velocity in order to make a soft landing on the lunar surface. The process will take approximately one hour.”

The privately built Hakuto-R Series 1 lander is carrying two small moon rovers: the Sora-Q for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Rashid, built by the United Arab Emirates’ space agency.

While the Sora-Q and the Rashid will spend time examining the geological properties of the lunar surface, the mission is primarily a test event aimed at proving iSpace’s ability to successfully land a payload on the lunar surface.

Doing so will secure iSpace membership of an elite club that includes only the U.S., China, and the former Soviet Union.

Two other nations — India and Israel — have also attempted to land on the moon in separate missions in 2019, but both efforts failed. India is preparing to try again in a couple of months’ time.

iSpace will attempt to land its payload on Tuesday, April 25, at 9:40 p.m. PT (1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26, Tokyo time).

15 Comments on Japan Will Attempt To Land on the Moon Today

  1. It seems many Americans are struggling along in our just starting economic depression as Washington burns money on fun projects they seem to like impressing others with the “lookee at us” theme it gives off.

    4
  2. Hawaii has a lot of trees.
    One is called the Monkey Pod Tree
    It grows tall
    Sheds a lot too
    The fruit seed pods are sticky and slightly sweet
    They say you can make drinks with them

    4 Monkey Pods
    5 In The Tree

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