Japan startup blames altimeter problem for failed moon landing

The spacecraft was set to touch down on the moon June 6 in the company's second lunar landing attempt.

If the mission had succeeded, ispace would have been the first Asian company to achieve a lunar landing.

In the early hours of the day, the company's second lunar lander began its descent from lunar orbit at a point 100 kilometers above the moon's surface.

It was mounted with an altimeter using lasers to measure the distance to the moon's surface.

The plan was to measure the distance before the lander reached an altitude of 3km so that it could slowly descend by firing the engines according to the exact altitude.

However, the altimeter only started its measurements 1km above the surface.

Since the lander had been descending faster than planned, it crashed into the lunar surface due to the delayed deceleration.

Ispace determined that the cause was the altimeter malfunction, based on its analysis of data transmitted before the crash.

The company also cited the possibility that the device failed to make measurements because of the lunar surface's low reflectivity and the lander's excessive speed.

Ispace will set up a team to examine the failure, including experts from organizations outside the company, such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada showed his determination to take appropriate measures by using insights from outside the company.

Ispace said it will go ahead with its plan to put a larger lander on the moon in 2027.