Tech Japanese lunar lander lifts off from Cape Canaveral

[thomas]

SpaceX has used its Falcon 9 rocket to send a privately funded mission toward the moon's surface. After a series of delays, HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:38 AM EST (07:38 UTC) on 11 December.

The craft developed by Tokyo-based ispace Inc. lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The craft will head to the moon in a trip spanning four and a half months. The Hakuto-R space mission calls for the lander to journey approximately 1.5 million kilometers over the course of a month or so before heading to the moon to touch down in a region called Mare Frigoris, or Sea of Cold. The craft is carrying a lunar surface exploration robot jointly developed primarily by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and toymaker Tomy Co., a lunar rover from the United Arab Emirates and five other payloads.

Lunar lander lifts off in first private-sector moon program | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

​

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 carrying private Japanese moon lander - NASASpaceFlight.com

SpaceX has used its Falcon 9 rocket to send a privately funded mission toward the…

www.nasaspaceflight.com

 

[thomas]

Here is a little update from Hakuto-R and a stunning picture of the earth:

The lander launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:38 a.m. Eastern Time. About 19 hours after separating from its launch vehicle, the Hakuto-R spacecraft captured its first images using its mounted camera. More than a hundred people at a viewing party in Tokyo roared in applause when the rocket fired and lifted into the dark skies. "I'm so happy. After repeated delays, it's good that we had a proper launch today," Yuriko Takeda, a 28-year-old worker at an electronics company who joined the gathering, tells Reuters. "I have this image of the American flag from the Apollo landing, so while this is just the launch, the fact that it's a private company going there with a rover is a significant step."

Japan's Private Moon Mission Captures Awe-Inspiring Photo of Earth

It's a significant step in Japanese space exploration.

petapixel.com