NASA has released new images showing the crash site of a Japanese lunar lander that slammed into the moon earlier this month.
The photos, taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, show a dark mark and a faint halo in the Mare Frigoris region—also known as the Sea of Cold—where ispace’s “Resilience” lander and its mini rover impacted the lunar surface.
The halo appears to have been formed by lunar dust scattered from the crash.
The images were captured last week and made public Friday, about two weeks after the lander’s failed descent.
Resilience was launched in January from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of ispace’s second attempt to achieve a lunar landing.
The Tokyo-based company also suffered a failure in its first mission last year.
The spacecraft was aiming to land in the moon’s far northern volcanic plains, but contact was lost just before touchdown.
NASA’s orbiter later identified the impact site.
Ispace has not yet said what went wrong but plans to hold a news conference next week to share findings from its investigation.
Despite the setback, ispace has stated it remains committed to future missions and improving its lander technology.
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