Japanese startup attempts Moon landing

TOKYO: A Japanese startup will attempt a tricky lunar touchdown on Friday with an unmanned lander named Resilience, two years after its first try which crashed onto the Moon´s surface.

If successful, it will be only the third private mission to the Earth´s rocky natural satellite ever completed, and the first by a company based outside the United States. The startup, ispace, says touchdown is expected at 4:17 am Japan time on Friday (1917 GMT Thursday) with the potentially nail-biting attempt streamed on its website. Resilience is “ready to attempt a historic landing on the Moon” and “we are confident in our preparations for success”, ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said last week.