The Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander is expected to make its landing around 16.40 GMT today (Tuesday) after spending some weeks orbiting the Moon in an elliptical orbit starting around 2,000km above the surface.
The lander’s onboard camera has already been used to take pictures of the Moon from space.
During the landing sequence, Hakuto-R will perform a braking burn, firing its main propulsion system to decelerate from orbit. Utilising a series of pre-set commands, the lander will adjust its attitude and reduce velocity in order to make a soft landing on the lunar surface. The process will take approximately one hour if completed successfully.
The lander originally took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a SpaceX rocket in December.
Speaking at a media briefing, ispace chief technology officer Ryo Ujiie likened the task of slowing down the lander to the correct speed against the Moon’s gravitational pull to “stepping on the brakes on a running bicycle...