Watch Japan’s ispace attempt moon landing with Hakuto-R lunar lander

A Japanese company called ispace is about to attempt a landing on the moon. If successful, it will be the first private company to achieve such a feat, following in the footsteps of US, Chinese and Soviet national space agencies.

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What is the ispace mission?

To put its lander, named Hakuto-R, on the lunar surface. It was launched from Earth on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 11 December 2022. To save fuel, the spacecraft took a slow path to the moon, arriving in lunar orbit three months later in March.

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What time will it land?

At 4.40 pm BST, the craft will begin its landing sequence from lunar orbit, 100 kilometres above the moon’s surface. If all goes to plan, it will touch down an hour later, at 5.40 pm BST.

How can I watch it?

There will be a live stream of the landing on YouTube.

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