Just over two years after the Japanese company ispace attempted but failed to land its HAKUTO-R Mission 1, the HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Resilience lander attempted a lunar landing this week but was not successful. Mission 2 was to touch down on the lunar surface at 60.5 degrees north and 4.6 degrees west, in Mare Frigoris, the same region in the Moon’s northern hemisphere where Mission 1 attempted to touch down at Atlas Crater in 2023.
Resilience, in orbit around the Moon since early May, was scheduled to land one month after its lunar orbit insertion. The spacecraft attempted its landing on Thursday, June 5, at 19:17 UTC (4:17 AM JST Friday, June 6) near the center of Mare Frigoris, but data was lost 90 seconds before landing. The company later confirmed the mission was lost. Â There was a contingency plan for up to three alternate sites with dates and times for each should that be needed, but this plan was not used.
As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission.
“Given that there is currently no… pic.twitter.com/IoRUfggoiQ
— ispace (@ispace_inc) June 6, 2025