First Private Company Attempting Moon Landing Loses Contact With Spacecraft Moments Before Touchdown

A Japanese company attempting to become the first private entity to land a spacecraft on the moon said its attempt to make history was unsuccessful Tuesday. 

Tokyo-based company ispace, which develops spacecraft technology and builds landers and rovers, attempted to land its unmanned Mission 1 lunar lander on the northeastern sector of the moon around 12:40 p.m. ET Tuesday. As the spacecraft reached its final 30 feet of descent while traveling at 16 mph, the control team lost contact with it, the Associated Press reported

“We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface,” ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said, according to CNBC.

Controllers for ispace reportedly had blank expressions as time went by after losing contact with the spacecraft. A commentator for the craft’s landing webcast told everyone watching to remain patient as the controllers waited to regain connection, but ispace employees were unable to reconnect to the spacecraft. 

The primary landing site for our HAKUTO-R Mission 1 is Atlas Crater, located in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon. (1/3)

📸 @NASA #ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest pic.twitter.com/qmomqdg17J

— ispace (@ispace_inc) April 25, 2023

The seven-foot-tall moon lander was carrying a mini lunar rover sent by the United Arab Emirates and also had a robot from Japan intended to roll around in the moon dust, the AP reported. The moon lander also carried other scientific research equipment and payloads from government agencies and companies in the U.S. and Canada. 

The Japanese company outlined 10 milestones for the Mission 1 lunar lander and had completed eight of those goals, CNBC reported. The ninth goal was landing on the moon’s surface and the final goal was to establish a power supply and communication with Earth.  

Last year, ispace got a $73 million contract with NASA to team up with Draper, a Massachusetts-based research organization, to fly cargo to the moon’s surface in 2025. 

Only the U.S., Russia, and China have successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon. An Israeli nonprofit organization attempted a moon landing in 2019, but its craft was destroyed during an attempted landing. 

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The failed landing from ispace comes days after American rocket company SpaceX attempted a launch of the largest rocket ever built. The Starship rocket climbed 24 miles from its launch platform in Texas before it exploded during the stage of separation from its boosters. 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remained optimistic after the launch and explosion, saying that his employees “learned a lot” for the next test launch. 

Trump Reacts To Tucker Carlson Ouster, Dishes On Rivalry With DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump reacted to Fox News parting ways with top-rated host Tucker Carlson and explained his feud with Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in a wide-ranging interview on Monday.

Trump spoke with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly, who began their discussion with questions about Carlson’s high-profile departure weeks after the Fox News host conducted an interview with the former president.

“Well, I’m shocked, I’m surprised,” Trump said of Carlson’s ouster. “He’s a very good person, a very good man, and very talented, as you know, and he had very high ratings.”

Trump said he did not know if Carlson left voluntarily or got fired but speculated Carlson “wants free rein, maybe.”

TRUMP COMMENTS ON TUCKER: ‘45’ tells Greg Kelly his thoughts on Fox News and Tucker Carlson parting ways. “I just said, wow, that was something, that's a big one.” pic.twitter.com/XIWMVaXfpB

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) April 25, 2023

Fox News announced Monday that the network and Carlson “agreed to part ways,” and the host’s last show was Friday.

“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” Fox News said in a statement, adding that “Fox News Tonight” would air live at 8 p.m. ET as an interim show helmed by “rotating” network personalities until a new host is named.

Carlson ended his last show by telling viewers he would be back on Monday. As of press time, Carlson has yet to comment on his situation publicly.

Sources told The Los Angeles Times that the decision to push out Carlson and his producer Justin Wells came from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and that the exit is related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former network producer Abby Grossberg.

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Later in the interview, Trump talked about the 2024 election and DeSantis, who is widely expected to enter the contest for the GOP nomination — a move that would set them up to clash.

“Right now, I'm very down on [DeSantis],” former president Donald Trump tells Greg Kelly.

“I am very disappointed in him because I'm a loyal person, maybe to a fault." pic.twitter.com/0Zjn8JBWIO

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) April 25, 2023

“Right now, I’m very down on him,” Trump said of DeSantis.

Trump explained that he views DeSantis toying with the idea of a presidential campaign right now as a betrayal because he endorsed DeSantis to be Florida governor.

“A lot of people said loyalty doesn’t mean anything to me. Loyalty means a lot,” Trump said.

Although there were no insights into who Trump might pick as a running mate, he did downplay the significance of choosing one, at least during the campaign.

People “vote for the one person,” Trump said.

Trump also mocked President Joe Biden, who made his re-election campaign official on Tuesday, for opting to go with a video announcement.

“This way he can do it four or five times so he gets it right,” Trump quipped.

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