the japanese mission Hakuto–R. that should have landed this Tuesday on the lunar surface has not yet been in contact with the control center that follows it from Earth, with which the fate of this private probe is uncertain.

The lunar ship, developed by the Ispace company, should have reached its destination at 16:41 GMT, according to the countdown that could be seen in the live broadcast offered by the Japanese company. It was expected that the signal from the probe could take a few minutes to be received, but time passed without news from the mill and the tension in the room increased.

The company reported about 20 minutes later that it had had communication with the spacecraft until moments before landing, but it was finally lost. “We cannot specify the landing”said a spokesman, who has assured that “they are investigating what happened.”

The device weighing about 14 kilos was launched by a rocket Falcon 9 from Space X on December 11 from the United States and had been in lunar orbit for a month. Once on the Moon, the lander was to carry out a series of experiments in cooperation with various commercial entities and agencies on Earth.

On board the lander is the Rashid rover, from the United Arab Emirates. Your goal ands study the properties of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, the movement of dust, as well as the condition of the lunar surface plasma and photoelectron shroud.

Created in 2010, Ispace operated Hakuto, which was one of five finalist teams in the Google Lunar XPRIZE race. Subsequent missions are in development with launches expected in 2024 and 2025, which will also contribute to NASA’s Artemis program. ispace has also launched a business concept of lunar data to support new customers as a gateway to conduct business on the Moon.