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The first commercial spacecraft was launched to the Moon in the US state of Florida. The spacecraft consists of a lander from Japan with an unmanned trolley from the United Arab Emirates inside. The suit was scheduled to launch at 8:38 a.m. on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a base in Florida.
The launch was originally scheduled for November 30, but a problem with the rocket necessitated a postponement.
The mission called Hakuto-R was set up by the Japanese company ispace, which ultimately wants to extract raw materials and water on the moon. This is necessary to establish a manned base on the moon. With the Hakuto-R lunar lander, the company wants to test its design and technology.
The spacecraft makes a major detour and will take months to arrive on the moon. Landing is at the earliest in March.
Here’s what the launch looked like:
Commercial spacecraft launched to the moon
Hakuto-R brings instruments from different organizations. The main cargo is a 10-kilogram trolley named Rashid, which was developed by a space center in the Emirates. Rashid is to take photos of the landing site and investigate electrical charges on the lunar surface. Another device is NASA’s mini-satellite, Lunar Flashlight, which searches for ice in craters near the moon’s south pole.
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isspace
Print of Hakuto-R on the moon -
MBRSC
Impression of the Rashid rover on the lunar surface
This is the first time that Japan has attempted to land a rover on the Moon. Attempts by India and the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL to do the same failed in 2019. China has successfully brought spacecraft to the surface in recent years, as have the United States and the United States. Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.
Next spring, two more commercial craft will go to the Moon, Nova-C and Peregrine. These are both developed by American companies. It is not yet known which of the three will arrive first.
