japanese start-up lose contact
Japanese start-up loses contact with spacecraft during moon landing
The ispace mission began when the spacecraft was launched from Florida in December aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It then took a circuitous route to the moon, before attempting the landing Tuesday in the Atlas crater of the northeast quadrant of the moon. While leaders at the company expressed confidence that their spacecraft would touch down successfully, they acknowledged the difficulty of a lunar landing and recent failed attempts by others.