There is a person by the name ofLeah Crane.
The ispace company is about to launch a lunar lander. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first mission funded and built by a private firm to land on the moon.
The Israeli non-profit SpaceIL tried to land the Beresheet spaceship on the moon but it crashed into the lunar surface due to a fatal engine flaw. The first successful moon landing not funded by a government was offered a cash prize by the competition. Only the US, the Soviet Union and China have been able to land on the moon.
Since the X Prize, ispace has grown to be a multinational company with offices in Japan, the US and Luxembourg. The founder and CEO of ispace wants to position the company as an international bridge between the US and other companies. The company has contracts with NASA and the European Space Agency to land on the far side of the moon and collect samples of lunar dust and water.
The M-1 mission is scheduled to launch on the 30th of November. A small rover, a two-wheeled robot, and a camera and flight computer prototype will be carried by the lander. If it succeeds, it will be the first private moon landing and the first time any craft from Japan or the U.A. has visited the lunar surface.
The path to the moon is a circuitous one that requires less fuel in order to fit more scientific equipment on board. Instead of flying straight there, it will use the gravity of Earth and the sun to give it a push. Most of the mass of the craft is propellant that will be burned on the way, and the lander will have a mass of less than 500 grams by the time it lands.
After it arrives at the moon, it will spend about two weeks in a circle around the moon. It will land softly in the Atlas crater.
There are two other US firms that are vying to be the first private company on the moon. The Nova-C and Peregrine landers from Astrobotic are not scheduled to launch until early next year, but they will be able to take more direct routes to the moon.
Hakamada doesn't care who lands first. I don't think it's possible to do that with only one company so we want several companies to do business there The company has two more lunar missions in the works, with the goal of launching them in two years' time.
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