A Private Spacecraft Will Attempt to Land on the Moon Tomorrow

[Elderberry]

The Byte by Victor Tangermann 4/24/2023

It could become the first privately operated lander to touch down on the lunar surface.

Adjusting Orbit

After being launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and spending the last five months making its way to the Moon, a private Japanese spacecraft is about to make its first harrowing attempt to land on the lunar surface.

The lander, a part of Japanese company ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1, is also carrying the United Arab Emirates' Rashid rover, potentially paving the way for the first successful soft landing of a private spacecraft on the Moon — if everything goes according to plan, at least.

Since April 12, the Mission 1 lander has been orbiting the moon in an elliptical orbit. It even took the time to take some stunning images of the lunar surface.

Around noon EST tomorrow, the lander will begin its landing sequence, firing its main propulsion system to adjust its altitude and close in on the Atlas crater on the Moon's near side. Ispace will be providing a live stream from mission control in Tokyo.

More: https://futurism.com/the-byte/private-spacecraft-land-moon-attempt