‘Incorrect altitude estimation’ likely cause behind Japanese failed moon landing

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - “Incorrect altitude estimation” was the cause behind the crash of a lunar lander launched into space by a Japanese startup, the company said on Friday.

“The most likely reason for the lander’s incorrect altitude estimation was that the software did not perform as expected,” said Tokyo-based Ispace, owner of HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander, which crash-landed on moon last month.

It said while the lander was navigating to the planned landing site, “the altitude measured by the onboard sensors rose sharply when it passed over a large cliff approximately 3 kilometers in elevation on the lunar surface, which was determined to be the rim of a crater.”

The Japanese startup last month announced the crash of the lander when it was scheduled to touchdown on moon’s surface early Wednesday, April 26, at approximately 1.40 a.m. Japanese time (1640GMT, Tuesday).

An “unexpected behavior occurred with the lander’s altitude measurement,” said the company in a statement.

“A larger-than-expected discrepancy occurred between the measured altitude value and the estimated altitude value set in advance,” it added.

NASA on Tuesday released images of the possible debris of the crashed lunar lander.

If the mission was successful, it would make Ispace the first private company in the world to reach the celestial body.

Ten images showed four large craters that the NASA team identified as "an unusual surface change at the likely landing site."

The lander took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in the US aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December and has been orbiting moon since March, capturing its images.