SpaceX launches Japanese Hakuto-R spacecraft to moon PHOTO

Japan's first Hakuto-R lunar lander was launched to Earth's natural satellite on December 11, using a Falcon 9 rocket, according to the private lunar robotic exploration company "ispace".

The launch was carried out from the 40th launch pad at the US Space Force base at Cape Canaveral in Florida at 02:38 US East Coast time on December 11 (10:38 Baku time on the morning of December 10), according to Space Flight Insider.

After 47 minutes from launch, the vehicle was scheduled to separate from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket and set course for the moon.

The mission is entirely private, with Hakuto-R potentially become the first privately owned spacecraft ever to successfully land on the moon. The Japanese company ispace is developing robotic space landing device technology.

The 1-ton landing module is scheduled to land in April 2023 at the Atlas crater on the visible side of the Moon. Equipped with a number of scientific instruments, it will perform research functions as a stationary probe.

The Rashid rover, built in the United Arab Emirates and weighing about 10 kg, will fly to the moon along with the Japanese lander, which measures about 2 by 2.5 metres. The micro rover, built by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in the UAE, is equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscope, a thermal imager and a Langmuir probe.

The Rashid rover is scheduled to take photographs of the lunar surface and conduct a number of surveys during its mission, which will last about 14 Earth days.