LiveScience has reported that ground control lost contact with the Japanese moon lander Hakuto-R, also called Resilience, during its attempted landing on June 5, 2025. The lander was carrying the first European-built rover, named “Tenacity”, which is now feared lost.
From the article:
“The status of a private Japanese moon lander—which was carrying Europe’s first lunar rover—is in question after ground control suddenly lost contact with the spacecraft on Thursday (June 5). Mission control lost contact with the lander, known as “Resilience,” at 3:17 p.m ET, just as it was attempting a lunar touchdown.
“After several hours, ground control has yet to reestablish contact with the lander, and the status of its payload is unknown.”
Read the full article here.
UPDATE June 23 2025: CRASH SITE FOUND:
Space.com has reported that NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has imaged the crash site of Resilience:
According to the article, the landing craft Resilience left evidence on the moon’s surface where it crashed, and Orbiter spotted it:
“The dark smudge formed as the vehicle excavated and redistributed shallow regolith (soil); the faint bright halo resulted from low-angle regolith particles scouring the delicate surface,” [Mark] Robinson, the principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, told Inside Outer Space.”
“The crash spot is roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the landing site that ispace mapped out, to one decimal place, on its webpage. One decimal place in lunar latitude and longitude equals 19 miles (30 km), Robinson said.”
You can read the full article here.
Also, here’s a video explaining in more technical detail the craft, the landing process, and what may have gone wrong, for those interested in more details & information:
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