Japanese space firm loses communication with lunar lander

Japanese startup ispace lost contact Wednesday with its Hakuto-R lunar lander, the company said, suggesting its bid to be the first private firm to place a spacecraft on the Moon had failed.

“We have not confirmed communication with the lander,” a company official said about 25 minutes after the planned landing.

“We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface,” the official said.