Dubai: In a fresh update issued on the Rashid Rover mission to the moon last night, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai has issued a statement saying: “ispace (the Japanese company that sent the lander spacecraft carrying the UAE’s Rashid Rover) confirmed that until 8am Japan time (3am UAE time), there was no communication between the HAKUTO-R lander and the mission control centre, and thus it was confirmed that there was no possibility of a successful landing on the Moon and contact with the lander.”

The lunar exploration company, ispace, said in a statement issued on Wednesday morning that the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander was scheduled to touchdown on the surface of the Moon at approximately 1.40 am JST (8.40pm GST).

The company thus determined that the lander could have made a hard landing.

“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 engineers monitored the estimated remaining propellant reached at the lower threshold and shortly afterward the descent speed rapidly increased. After that, the communication loss happened. Based on this, it has been determined that there is a high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing on the Moon’s surface,” it said.

“To find the root cause of this situation, ispace engineers are currently working on a detailed analysis of the telemetry data acquired until the end of the landing sequence and will clarify the details after completing the analysis,” ispace added.

First Arab lunar mission to enter Moon's orbit

In a separate statement, MBRSC said: “Post the space announcement regarding the unsuccessful landing of HAKUTO-R Mission 1, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre commends the remarkable efforts of the mission partner ispace, who tirelessly worked towards the goal of landing safely on the lunar surface.

“While the Rashid Rover and other payloads onboard the lander did not get the chance to continue on their respective missions, the team at MBRSC is still proud of the achievements, including developing a rover and becoming the first Emirati and Arab lunar mission to enter the Moon’s orbit.

We thank the French space agency, CNES, for their scientific and technical contribution throughout the mission. We also appreciate the support of our local and international partners and the invaluable insights gained in the process. After getting this close to the Moon, the MBRSC team is inspired and believes that greater accomplishments are yet to come in our pursuit of space exploration.”