The moon landing is a delicate dance of technology and communication

Only three countries in the world have been able to ace lunar landings, a dangerous high-speed game of synchronicity that happens 3,84,400 kilometers away from us. While it is easy to get from one position to another on Earth thanks to GPS and navigation, it's not that simple when it comes to the Moon

The first private mission to the Moon was 100 kilometers above the lunar surface. The spacecraft crash landed on the Moon. Tokyo-based Ispace declared the mission as failed

Tokyo-based ispace felt that on Tuesday night as it lost its Hakuto-R M1 lander with UAE's Rashid rover. The Moon had claimed its latest victim.

The hard landing brings back painful flashbacks of the Chandrayaan-2 crash on the far side of the Moon in 2019 when India lost its ambitious mission to the punishing lunar world.

Only three countries in the world have been able to ace lunar landings, a dangerous high-speed game of synchronicity that happens 3,84,400 kilometers away from us. That's so far that the mission control is just a spectator relying on autonomous onboard computers, crisp communications, and navigational capabilities of the lander in not only finding a spot to land but to actually land.

What Happened With Hakuto-R Mission?

The first private mission to the Moon was 100 kilometers above the lunar surface when it began its nerve-wracking descent sequences on Tuesday night. At that moment, the lander was traveling at a speed of 6,000 kilometers per hour. Ispace confirmed that as the descent sequence began, the lander was able to get into a vertical landing position.

"Based on the currently available data, the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, confirmed that the lander was in a vertical position as it carried out the final approach to the lunar surface. Shortly after the scheduled landing time, no data was received indicating a touchdown," Ispace said in a statement.

As communication was lost with the lander, Ispace suspects that Hakuto made a hard landing on the surface of the Moon and could not achieve a smooth touchdown. "It has been determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing on the Moon’s surface," Ispace added.

Our HAKUTO-R M1 lunar lander was scheduled to land on the surface of the Moon at approx. 1:40 (JST). As of 8:00 today (JST), communication between the lander at the Mission Control Centre was lost and it has been determined that Success 9 of the milestones is not achievable.(1/3) — Ispace (@ispace_inc) April 26, 2023

Why Is It Difficult To Land On The Moon?

Landing on the Moon is not easy and only three countries in the world — US, Russia, and China — have been able to do it. India aimed to be the fourth country when it planned to land its Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon in 2019. The probe eventually crash-landed.

While it is easy to get from one position to another on Earth thanks to GPS and navigation, it's not that simple when it comes to the Moon. Landing on the lunar surface is a well-choreographed dance that relies on several factors. These factors include primarily slowing down the descent, which Hakuto-R seems to have been unable to do.

The lander was to slow down from 6,000 kmph to zero within 100 kilometers for a smooth touchdown.

Another crucial factor is communication. The probes in the lunar world communicate via the deep space network spread across the world. Engineers rely on the telemetry from these stations in an interplay of signals to direct the mission on the Moon to raise or lower the orbits. Losing communication means the spacecraft goes blind on the alien world.

The lunar terrain in itself is highly cratered with rough edges protruding from the surface. Nasa has tested its terrain navigation technology with the Perseverance rover on Mars which sits on the lander and scans the surface below to pinpoint a safe landing spot moments before touchdown that could be deployed on Moon as well.

How Is India Prepping For Chandrayaan-3 Landing?

India is in the final stage of preparations to launch the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon. The spacecraft is likely to launch to the Moon in June this year.

Isro has said that the Chandrayaan-3 mission will demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface and as part of scientific reach it will measure the thermal conductivity and temperature, seismicity around the landing site, estimate the plasma density and its variations, and conduct laser ranging studies.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to the Chandrayan-2 mission that will demonstrate end-to-end capability.

Chandrayaan-2 was lost in the final moments of landing sequences as the Vikram lander performed an inexplicable flip and was upside down for a brief moment that eventually led to its failure. Learning from the loss, ISRO has implemented new changes in the technology to ensure better terrain navigation to find a landing spot.

While Moon looks peaceful and quiet from Earth, this airless world can be a punishing experience.