Japanese ispace's Hakuto-R lunar lander began descending towards the surface of the Moon.
Japanese startup ispace lost contact Wednesday with its Hakuto-R lunar lander, the company said, suggesting its bid to be the first private firm to place a spacecraft on the Moon had failed.
"We have not confirmed communication with the lander," a company official said about 25 minutes after the planned landing.
"We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface," the official said.
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