Weeks after the Japanese spacecraft Resilience crash-landed on the Moon’s surface, new images released by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) reveal the impact site — a large, dark crater etched into the Mare Frigoris region.
The spacecraft, part of ispace’s Mission 2, was attempting a soft landing on the Sea of Cold in the lunar northern hemisphere when communication with Tokyo-based mission control was abruptly lost. Shortly after, a high-velocity descent resulted in a hard crash, now visibly marked by a smudge of displaced lunar regolith and a faint halo produced by low-angle scattering.
NASA’s LRO captured the detailed imagery from about 50 miles above the lunar surface. Complementing this, India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, equipped with the high-resolution OHRC camera — boasting an unprecedented 0.25-meter resolution — also documented the crash site. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has yet to officially release its version, but space enthusiast Shanmuga Subramanian claims to have identified the site using the OHRC data.
Preliminary analysis from ispace indicated the lander’s laser rangefinder malfunctioned during descent, leading to delayed surface distance measurements and insufficient deceleration, ultimately causing the lunar impact.
This event not only underscores the challenges of lunar exploration but also showcases global collaboration in uncovering the realities of extraterrestrial missions, with both the US and Indian space agencies contributing key visuals and insights.
