Overview

• The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera obtained the crash site photos on June 11 from roughly 50 miles above the surface.
• The images reveal a dark smudge surrounded by a subtle bright halo created as regolith was stirred up at impact.
• Resilience, part of ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 2, carried scientific instruments and a micro rover before crashing in Mare Frigoris during its June 5 landing attempt.
• This marked ispace’s second lunar landing failure in two years under its Tokyo-based commercial program.
• Company officials plan a news conference next week to determine failure causes and prepare upgraded landers for a 2027 launch.