10 days until our HAKUTO-R M1 scheduled landing on the Moon! Here’s an image of our AIT Team integrating the fuel tanks into the flight model last year at an @ArianeGroup facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany. #ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
"As our M1 lander approaches the lunar surface, the Moon occupies more of the lander's field of view. This causes the Sun to be blocked for more time, which poses a challenge for power management and power generation." (1/2)
Through careful testing and analysis, the ispace engineering team has prepared for this and has led the lander through the longest periods of eclipse successfully." — Sasha Ivan Hurovitz: Spacecraft Avionics Systems Engineer (2/2)
Mark your calendars! In just one week, our HAKUTO-R Program Mission 1 lunar lander is scheduled to land on the Moon.Another vital part of our Mission 1 team is our backup Operations Team, located in Luxembourg! (1/2)📸 Luxembourg, 3/2023
This talented group of professionals also monitors the lander’s status and works closely with our team in Tokyo to contribute to mission operations. They’re always ready to jump in and support the mission from the other side of the globe. (2/2)#ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
The camera onboard our HAKUTO-R M1 lander continues to capture beautiful images of our Moon from lunar orbit! This photo is a composite of 3 images, with a reflection of the lander’s MLI visible on the right. #ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
6 days until our HAKUTO-R M1 scheduled landing on the Moon!Landing event livestream coverage will begin at the link below approximately 1 hour prior to landing, which is scheduled to take place on April 25, 16:40 (UTC)/12:40 (EST) at the earliest. (1/3)youtube.com/live/CpR1UUnix…
“What we have accomplished so far is already a great achievement, and we are already applying lessons learned from this flight to our future missions,” said ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada in a release announcing the M1 landing date. (2/3)
“The stage is set. I am looking forward to witnessing this historic day, marking the beginning of a new era of commercial lunar missions." (3/3)#ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
We are excited to share a new photo of the Moon taken by the lander's on-board camera from an altitude of about 100 km above the lunar surface. The photo was taken at 4:32 am on April 15 (JST). (1/2)
Our earliest targeted landing date, Tuesday, April 25, 16:40 (UTC)/12:40 (EST), is approaching! (2/2)#ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
We’ve received another incredible photo from the camera onboard our Mission 1 lander!Seen here is the lunar Earthrise during solar eclipse, captured by the lander-mounted camera at an altitude of about 100 km from the lunar surface. (1/2)
The Moon hung perfectly between the Sun and Earth at this moment, casting a shadow resulting in the solar eclipse visible over Australia in this image. (2/2)#ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
#HAKUTO_R was reported on X-band by @BymCt1 with some good timings. From those SMA ~7148s. About 114km circular lunar orbit as claimed with low asymmetry in Doppler curve. Phasing his obs to the landing site at Atlas Crater produces this rough orbit about the moon.🧵⬇️
I'm not really sure of the RAAN of the orbit as it could be +/- 180 degrees. But for certain they have another burn to do to lower to a 'pre-desent' trajectory just above the Moon's mountains, say a 15-20km. Rough ground track below from Miguel's timings. ⬇️
Lowing to a 'pre-commit' orbit of say 100x15km gives them time to deal with issues and then make a final commitment. But after they lower the perilune to 15km or so they are committed it's only a matter of time before the MASCONS get them.⬇️
Once in a 100x15km or so orbit, they can pop out of this to descent quickly in a few minutes really. The burn would occur at perilune and they'd drop down from there. See the CE4 mission postmortem... 🛑
The primary landing site for our HAKUTO-R Mission 1 is Atlas Crater, located in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon. (1/3)📸 @NASA #ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
The site meets the technical specifications of the lander technology demonstration mission, the scientific exploration objectives for the @MBRSpaceCentre mission, as well as the mission requirements of our other customers. (2/3)
Landing site selection was accomplished through collaboration with MBRSC and @CrpgNancy. (3/3)
The Hakuto-R mission is now on the far side of the Moon, out of contact with controllers back on Earth. Comms should be reestablished by around 12:15 pm ET (16:15 UTC). The landing will follow about 30 minutes later.
"[FST edit: the Rashid Rover has its own thread: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52020.0 so any follow-ups to there please]"Is it a good idea to have a separate thread for one payload of the mission? If we have a lander image of the rover, which thread does it go in?
