The Moon Stuns Again As Japanese Lander Sends Spectacular Shot

Pictures of the Moon can never be enough! Now, a private Japanese spacecraft has snapped a stunning image of the Moon. The Hakuto-R spacecraft successfully manoeuvred into the Moon's orbit only nine days ago. Since then, the lander-mounted camera on the lander has been busy at work.

ispace

The Moon stuns again!

An image was recently shared by the Japanese company ispace (not related to Apple) that developed the spacecraft. You can easily see the extremely well-lit impact craters on the lunar surface and the desolate darkness of space that surrounds it.

Hello from lunar orbit! ?

After last week's successful lunar orbital insertion maneuver, this image of the Moon was captured by our lander-mounted camera during HAKUTO-R Mission 1.

More stunning views to come!
#ispace #hakuto_r #lunarquest #moon #space pic.twitter.com/h2WHW7YPrp

¡ª ispace (@ispace_inc) March 27, 2023

At the edge of the lunar horizon, you can notice the craters that are partially visible - just a testimony to how far humanity has come from capturing fuzzy images of Earth's only natural satellite.

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Launched on December 11, 2022, the Hakuto-R took a longer but less energy-consuming route to the Moon. At the end of April, the Hakuto-R will attempt to land on the lunar surface. If all goes as planned, Japan would become the fourth country after the United States, Soviet Union, and China to land on the Moon.

In addition, this would mark the first time a privately owned spacecraft managed to land on the Moon. The Hakuto-R is also carrying United Arab Emirates' space agency's Rashid rover that will study the lunar surface.

ispace

India also attempted to land on the Moon with its Chandrayaan-2 lander, but failed to achieve its goal in 2019. A follow-up mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) called Chandrayaan-3 is expected to launch in June, 2023. The Chandrayaan-2 got very close, but a last-minute glitch in soft landing software led to the failure, even after a successful orbital insertion.

Also read: Blue Origin Scientists Have Found A Way To Turn Moon Dust Into Solar Power

The Japanese company behind Hakuto-R is also already working on follow-up missions - with launches planned for 2024 and 2025.

What do you think about humanity's progress in space? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.