ispace’s Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander (2023)
Tokyo-based ispace failed in its attempt to land an uncrewed commercial lander at the Moon’s Atlas crater in the far northern hemisphere. On December 11, 2022, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Hakuto-R M1 lander, part of ispace’s lunar exploration program. This mission aimed to offer cost-effective lunar payload delivery, with the M1 carrying various payloads, including a small transformable robot from the Japanese space agency and the Emirati Rashid rover. Additionally, it transported two Canadian commercial payloads: a lunar camera from Canadensys Aerospace and an AI flight computer from Mission Control Space Services. Hakuto-R M1 crashed on April 25, 2023, during its attempt to land, when a large cliff caused the lander to miscalculate its distance to the surface.
