Japanese startup ispace lost contact with its Hakuto-R lunar lander, the company said, suggesting its bid to be the first private firm to place a spacecraft on the Moon had failed.
"We have not confirmed communication with the lander," a company official said about 25 minutes after the planned landing.
"We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface," the official said.
It was launched from Earth on December 11 on one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. So far only the United States, Russia and China have managed to put a robot on the lunar surface, all through government-sponsored programs.
In April 2019, Israeli organization SpaceIL watched their lander crash into the Moon’s surface. India also attempted to land a spacecraft on the Moon in 2019, but it crashed.