Why Japan's latest lunar landing attempt ended in a crash

The ispace M2 lunar lander has likely crash-landed on the Moon. This video examines the technical failures behind the mission, comparing its descent to previous attempts and highlighting the specific navigation and sensor issues that prevented a successful touchdown.

The M2 lander, launched via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, faced significant challenges during its lunar descent. Preliminary investigations by ispace suggest that errors in speed calculation and altitude sensor data led to the craft attempting to land at a point slightly below the lunar surface, resulting in a crash.

This mission represents a complex evolution from previous attempts. While the prior flight successfully halted its descent at a high altitude before falling, the M2 mission's navigation system failed to execute a controlled stop. Although the impact velocity was likely lower than in previous failures, the result remains a crash-landing.

Source: Japan Crashes into The Moon, but Slower Than Last Time