A rocket carrying a commercial lunar lander was launched on Sunday which, if the mission is successful, will lead to the first-ever private mission to the moon.
The project was initiated by the Japanese company ispace which launched a Falcon 9 rocket from American aerospace company SpaceX on Sunday at Cape Canaveral in Florida. On board was the company's Hakuto-R lunar lander.
It was an unmanned mission but it should land on the moon by the end of April if everything goes according to plan.
Ispace intends to be the first commercial company to land on the moon. So far, only the United States, Russia and China have succeeded with their lunar missions. Attempts by Israel and India weren't successful.
Related News
- The first space tourist wants to return to space with SpaceX
- ESA chief: European astronaut to walk on the moon within decade
In future, ispace wants to use the moon's resources and mine raw materials and water on the moon. Having a manned base on the moon would help such endeavours.
The Hakuto-R mission is meant to test design and technology for such uses later on. And to mine the moon, the Japanese company would work together with space agencies in the United States and Europe.
Mission 1 Orbit scale. Credit: ispace
It is not clear if the lander will be the first commercial device to actually arrive on the moon. The spacecraft will take a long detour, going as far away 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, four times as far away from the moon, and won't arrive until the end of April.
But next spring, two other commercial landers (Nova-C and Peregrine) are also set for the moon. It is still unclear which of the three companies will land first.
